User blog comment:Altaïr/New gameplay trailer with Ezio and Desmond!/@comment-125.163.11.24-20101021061657/@comment-1379990-20101021093948

No, he's wearing Altaïr's armor when the game starts and he's in Rome when the game starts just after the events of the Vault in ACII. Then later we get to see what happens at the villa.