Domenico Auditore

Domenico Auditore (1296 - unknown) was the founder of the Auditore family, and the architect of the Villa Auditore in the town of Monteriggioni.

Early life
Domenico was raised in Venice, Italy, subsequently becoming an apprentice sailor for an Adriatic based vessel when he was "barely old enough to walk." He later carried cargo for his father's patron, Marco Polo.

One day, while looking for work in the harbor, he fell in love with a young woman, with whom he would maintain a relationship as he continued to work as a sailor. Eventually, the two married and bore a son, Renato.

Training as an Assassin
One summer's afternoon, Domenico's patron called upon him. He arrived to see both his father and an older man dressed in a "strange hooded cape" also there. Domenico's father revealed that he was an Assassin, and as such Domenico himself was destined to follow in his footsteps. The man in the hood, Dante Alighieri, was to become Domenico's mentor and train him in the ways of the Order, in exchange for Domenico giving him passage to Spain.

Preparing for the journey, Domenico met with Dante many times, purchasing supplies and talking about important things such as life, love, honor and justice. Dante taught him that society was set up by its rulers to control the people, to stop them from thinking and seeing the truth. Dante then showed him the Codex written by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, which Marco Polo had acquired while visiting the court of Kublai Khan.

Upon returning to to pick up his belongings, Dante died. Domenico went to announce the news to his father and patron, but before he could say a word, the two revealed that Dante had been murdered by the Templar Order. The Templars had been watching Dante and sought the Codex, which Dante had planned to take to Spain.

Domenico's father ordered him to leave immediately for Spain, telling him to take the Codex and his family with him. Marco Polo handed Domenico a small sheet of paper, bearing Polo's own bank account number upon it, so that Domenico might draw upon it when necessary.

Journey to Spain
Domenico set sail that night, with a ship filled with cargo to be sold in Barcelona. However, to avoid a coming storm, they were forced to take shelter in the harbor of. Here, pirates under the employ of the Templars snuck aboard the vessel. Domenico did not see them until it was already too late. He hid with his family in the hold, broke the spine of the Codex, and placed its pages into various boxes and containers.

Finding Domenico and his family, the pirates demanded the Codex. Domenico could tell that they were drunk, and told them that he had thrown it overboard. Two of them held him down, while the rest sexually assaulted his wife, before throwing her overboard. They eventually threw both Domenico and his son overboard as well, before stealing the vessel's cargo and sinking the ship.

Domenico and his son reached the shore, and happened upon the corpse of his wife the next day, which had washed up onto the beach.

Founding the Auditore
Domenico and his son traveled by land, and made their way to Florence. Using Polo's account, which he had memorized, Domenico rented a small room for his son, before journeying in disguise to Venice to meet with his father and patron. However, he quickly discovered that they had both already been killed, and returned to Florence the next day.

Domenico took to studying the classics, taking vocal lessons and collecting treatises on architecture. Impersonating a noble at the Florentine court, he took the name Auditore, and was accepted as a part of the city's nobility.

Domenico subsequently purchased and renovated what would become the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni. He trained his son to become an Assassin, just as he was.

Later life
Before his death, Domenico constructed the Auditore Family Crypt within the city, leaving his memoirs engraved on stone plaques throughout its walls.

Trivia

 * The name Domenico is derived from Latin name Dominicus, meaning “of the Lord, belonging to God.” The name "Auditore" is the Italian version of "auditor."
 * Domenico was traditionally given to a child born on a Sunday, especially by Catholics.
 * While the Database claimed that Domenico was Ezio's great-grandfather, Ezio's uncle Mario and the architect of Monteriggioni both said that Domenico was Ezio's great-great-grandfather. It was later noted that the writer of the Database, Shaun Hastings, used an incomplete family tree as his source, which led to his mistake.
 * The actual commune of Monteriggioni was built in 1213 and was mentioned by Dante Alighieri in his Inferno, which also mentioned the characteristic city walls. The in-game database, however, mentioned that the Auditore family, founded after Dante's death in 1321, constructed the walls.