Villa Auditore

In his adventure, Ezio will discover the Auditore Family Villa, in the city of Monteriggioni. Perched atop a beautiful Tuscan valley, Monteriggioni has become run down and is badly in need of repair. Constructed in 1290, the Villa Auditore is an important medieval predecessor to early Renaissance architecture. The Villa’s wonderful symmetry and ordered geometry were a revelation for its time.

Not only concerned with aesthetics, Domenico Auditore, Ezio Auditore’s great-great-grandfather, designed his home to double as a fortress and training ground, looking out both over the city that it protects and the Tuscan plains.

After a Florentine attack in 1320 left the facade damaged, the present facade was erected and a painting gallery was added to the interior.

Domenico was more than just an architect and a warrior: he was also a skilled engineer. Hidden compartments and rooms with mechanisms blocking entry are several unique features of the building that make it a technological marvel as well as an architectural one.

Ezio is able to renovate both the town of Monteriggioni and the Auditore Villa. By investing in shops, Ezio can gain discounts to their wares, whilst improving the local economy. Players can also renovate the other areas of Monteriggoni such as the well or the barracks to increase the city's value. You may also choose to redecorate the Auditore Villa with famous renaissance paintings, weapons and armor bought throughout the game, and store a variety of collected objects. These items increase the worth of the Villa, and so the revenue generated each 20 minutes (real-time) grows. When the villa has been improved to 100% completion (the only way to reach 100% completion is by buying everything from all the shops; excluding the tailor; all the armor, weapons, paintings, by collecting all 100 feathers, all six assassins seals, all the paintings of the conspirators (including conspirators from the Battle of Forli and the Bonfire of the Vanities), etc. When you look into the Villa's book Claudia has, just look at the boxes at the bottom of each page; once all of them are checked, you will reach 100%, it will yield an income of 15,200 florins every 20 minutes, with a chest capacity of 60,800 florins . As the player invests in Monteriggioni, the Villa's outside appearance improves over time. Boards across windows are taken down, overgrown plants recede, and flags bearing the assassin symbol appear around the roof. While the city's appearance will improve, Monteriggioni's citizens always seem to be poorer (in clothing) than their counterparts from the cities. Also, with each guild renovated, there will be Courtesans, Mercenaries, and Thieves wandering around.

It is also worth to note that the wall towers associate with each guild are climb-able only after they're renovated; and while the city's colors changes from the Auditore's to the Assassin Order's with the renovation progress, they remained their own guild's colors.

Claudia and Maria Auditore remain at the villa for the rest of the game. Claudia keeps records of Monteriggioni's income and the statistics of Ezio's completion of collections, while Maria prays in the room that contains the chest where Ezio places the eagle feathers he collects from the game world.

Mario has an office that contains a wall-space where deciphered Codex Pages can be placed and pieced together. There is also a Sanctuary built by Domenico that houses 7 statues of great assassins in history as well as Altaïr's Armor.

There are no actual guards here, or any type of conventional threat. Although the Training Ground Mercenaries seem to be treated like oversize guards. People shout critisism at them during Ezio's training; and after matches, they push you in a very guardlike manner.

You do not need to learn special moves to unlock them.

Monteriggioni's populace starts out at 33, and maxes out at 3546. Also, you will never see anyone in the countryside.

Auditore Family Crypt
Beneath the Family's mansion is the Auditore Family Crypt, a place similar to the six Assassin Tombs Ezio finds throughout the world. While there is no major reward, he discovers information about Ezio's great-great-grandfather, his history as an Auditore and an Assassin, and the buildings of Monteriggioni.

There are 2,000 florins to be had at the end of the level - 500 florins more than any other Assassin Tomb - but the real reward and meaning of the place is the information about the origins of the Auditore family.

The Crypt can only be unlocked through Uplay and costs 40 points, and after accessed the first assassin tomb in the main line of story, so even in the subsequent playthrough it'd still not available until that event has passed.