Ezio Auditore da Firenze

"The Auditore are not dead! I'm still here! Me! Ezio, Ezio Auditore!"

- Ezio Auditore, 1476.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (born 1459) was an important figure during the Italian Renaissance - unbeknownst to most historians and philosophers - and a member of the Assassin's Order. He is a descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and the ancestor to both Desmond Miles and Subject 16. Ezio was unaware of his Assassin heritage until he was 17-years-old, when following the murder of his father and two brothers, Federico and Petruccio, Ezio fled from the Italian province of Florence - his hometown - and took refuge in the town of Monteriggioni in the Tuscan region at the Auditore Family Villa.

After the mentoring and training from his uncle, Mario Auditore, Ezio proceeded on his quest of revenge against the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, Rodrigo Borgia, who had ordered the executions of his father and two brothers. During his 23 year quest for revenge, Ezio managed to not only unite The Codex pages Altaïr wrote, for the first time since Domenico Auditore, but also to save the cities of Florence and Venice from the Templars' wrath. Later still, Ezio was responsible for the rescue of Christoffa Corombo, uncovering a Templar plot to discover the "New World".

Biography
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Equipment and skills
Ezio Auditore da Firenze was a highly skilled assassin during the Italian renaissance and a leader amongst the Order of Assassins. A master of multiple fields, including theft, blending, armed and unarmed combat, free-running and long-distance combat; he is able to use a variety of weapons including two hidden blades, the longsword, throwing knives and more. Born with the ability to use Eagle Vision, Ezio could access the ability to instinctively differentiate friend from foe.

An explorer, throughout his quests, Ezio scoured the cities in search of Codex pages and seals from the six assassins tombs spread across northern Italy. Ezio's obtainment of the Codex pages allowed Leonardo di Vinci to upgrade his weaponry, including the addition of a wrist gauntlet, wheel lock firearm concealed beneath his left hidden blade, and a poison needle inside the other.

Through the collection of the six tomb seals, Ezio gained access to the armor created by his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Ezio is also a free-runner, possibly taught by his brother Federico, and he uses this often to his advantages against the guards and various other enemies. Also throughout his life he collects capes that help him stay incognito. The only exception to this is the cape with the Auditore family crest on it, which makes the player notorious everywhere.

Romantic life
Ezio was known for his good looks, flirtatious nature and predisposition for womanizing. He is a very attractive character and irresistible to most women. Throughout the course of Assassin's Creed II, Ezio shares romantic relationships of varying degrees with women throughout Italy.

At the beginning of the game, Ezio has a relationship with Cristina Vespucci, a beautiful young Florentine woman. Ignoring Federico's plea to let Cristina rest, Ezio enters the young woman's room via the window and makes love to her. It is the only interaction seen between the two characters in game, but the novel expands their story : When Ezio comes back to Florence after two years, Cristina is married to one of her suitors, Manfredo d'Arzenta, though the two of them still share a love for one another. In 1486, Cristina and Manfredo travel to Venice for the carnival. Ezio writes a letter to her and signs it Manfredo. In the letter, he tells her to come to the Rio Terra degli Ogniscanti. Cristina went there as Ezio was waiting for her. As both wore carnevale masks, she did not recognise him until he kisses her. She then wears off his mask and recognising him, asks him how he dares kiss her like this and tells him she never wants to see him again. When Ezio tried to understand, she explained him that if he really loved her, he wouldn't simply have let Manfredo marry her. Several years later, Girolamo Savonarola's men killed Cristina, deeply wounding Ezio.

While trying to find a way to Venice, Ezio must first make a stop in Forlì. Ezio cannot initially board the ship to sail to Venice with Leonardo, and it is at that moment he encounters Caterina Sforza. Caterina, trapped on a small island, is screaming for help. She's stranded, has no way back, and is extremely frustrated. Ezio rescues Caterina, and she repays the favor by granting him passage to Venice. She also promises Ezio that the next time he returns to Forli, it would "be her pleasure" to invite him over. Afterward, while sailing for Venice, Ezio says to Leonardo that she is his future conquest and his type of woman. Leonardo then reveals Caterina's identity as the Countess of Forlì, and that seducing her would not be such a good idea as she's a married woman. Ezio probably did not pursue a relationship with her as there is no record of romantic interaction historically or in-game.

During a genetic memory known as "Horseplay", Ezio encounters a girl named Amelia. During this encounter, Amelia and two of her friends are discussing whether or not there is anyone who could beat their record in a horse-back riding race. Ezio takes on the challenge and, if he wins, will seduce Amelia into a sexual encounter. It should be noted that although this is the only other sexual encounter other than Cristina the player witnesses during the events of the game, the memory is completely optional and can be completely skipped, and ultimately has no effect on the storyline either way.

When Ezio arrives in Venice for the first time, he is knocked aside and robbed by an unknown young woman. Later the same day, Ezio witnessed the woman and a group of thieves attempt to scale the Palazzo della Seta. The attempt ended in failure and the girl was shot in the leg by an archer. Ezio intervened, defending the woman from Emilio Barbarigo's thugs and helping her to get to safety, learning in the process that her name is Rosa, and that she is a member of the city's thieves guild. At first, Rosa's attitude towards Ezio is very aggressive and unfriendly, but after he saves her, she becomes much more pleasant with him. In the game, Rosa and Ezio are only seen flirting playfully from time to time. In the novel, Rosa and Ezio have a much more intimate relationship.

During Sequence 10, while trying to acquire the Golden Mask, Ezio is seen flirting with many of Sister Teodora's Courtesans. After the CTF Challenge, when Ezio goes up to accept the Golden Mask as his prize for victory, he is accompanied by Courtesan, though it was not uncommon for an unwed man to take courtesans on "dates" during the Renaissance period. After assassinating Marco Barbarigo and seeking sanctuary in the brothel, Ezio is seen flirting with Sister Teodora, who invites several of her girls to "comfort" Ezio.

It is positive that Ezio had many love interests with numerous unnamed Florentine girls and courtesans before the beginning of the game. At the ending of the short film Assassin's Creed: Lineage Ezio is seen seducing an unknown girl, and at the beginning of the game, Ezio says to Vieri de' Pazzi that his sister seemed "quite satisfied with the handling he gave her earlier."

Trivia

 * The Italian name "Ezio" derives from the Greek word aetos, which means "eagle", similar to Altaïr, whose name means "The Flying One".
 * Unlike Altaïr (who had his ring finger removed as a commitment to make way for the Hidden Blade), Ezio has all ten fingers due to a modification to the Hidden Blade made by Altaïr sometime after he defeated Al Mualim.
 * Ezio uses a wheel-lock firearm, based off of a design found in the Codex pages; historically a type of weapon that didn't develop until just after the time-frame of the game, some of the first wheellock firearms were, in actuality, designed by da Vinci.
 * Ezio's face in Assassin's Creed II seems to be a mixture of Francisco Randez's (Desmond's and Altaïr's model) and Devon Bostick's from Lineage.
 * It would appear that Ezio remained unaware of his bloodline, and that he is a descendant of Altaïr, despite learning about him in Monteriggioni. Ezio never truly understood why he was such a successful assassin himself or why he possessed the Eagle Vision ability.
 * Ezio is 40 years old in 1499 (15 years older than Altaïr's age in 1191); the same age as his father upon his death in 1476.
 * Ezio is the only character who received the most physical change during the 23-year period of the game, others look mostly the same.
 * If you move the camera to a certain angle in the game, Ezio's face has barely aged, except for the beard, even if you played through 23 years of his life. His voice does deepen and mature through time, though, making him sound calmer and talk slower. Also when he has the beard, he appears to have lost his tan.
 * Just like Altaïr and Desmond, Ezio has a scar on his mouth, acquired after the mission "Boys Will Be Boys", when Vieri de' Pazzi threw the rock at his face during the first memory sequence.
 * Of all the characters in Assassin's Creed II that appeared in Assassin's Creed: Lineage, Ezio is the only character whose character model isn't based off of the actor in Lineage. This is because, as mentioned above, Ezio, in addition to Altaïr and Desmond, is based off of Francisco Randez. All other characters, such as Giovanni, Uberto, and even Petruccio are based off of the actors in Lineage.
 * The Ezio in Assassin's Creed: Lineage bears little resemblance to the Ezio in the beginning of Assassin's Creed II, both in physical appearance and personality.
 * Ezio, when countering (at least with his fists) will appear to have blank, soulless eyes (no iris or pupil), but only during the counter animation.
 * According to the Database, Ezio was expelled from his school at the age of 17 due to a link to some terrible crime, after which he "disappears from history". This is likely referring to the supposed plot by the Auditore to overthrow the Medici. Anything after that wouldn't be public knowledge; so as far as recorded history is concerned, Ezio simply disappeared after the death of his father and brothers.
 * Ezio has been seriously injured in battle twice. Both injuries were stab wounds to the right and left sides of his lower abdomen. He was stabbed in the right side by Checco Orsi after retrieving the Apple of Eden from him, and in the left side by Rodrigo Borgia during their battle in the Sistine Chapel.
 * Before retrieving his fathers assassin's clothing, if ever in a fist fight sometimes he will assassinate whoever he attacked with his fist, as if he was using the Hidden Blade even though he did not possess one yet. It even makes the blade's 'triggering' sound before the kill. It's most likely a glitch.