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Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of Assassin's Creed: Memories. This article has been identified as being out of date. Please update the article to reflect recent releases and then remove this template once done. |
Francesco Vecellio (c. 1475 – 1560) was the elder brother of the Renaissance painter Tiziano and a member of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins.
Raised to adulthood and trained by Perotto Calderon, an Assassin working undercover as a Borgia courier, Francesco later helped hunt down his teacher for betraying the Brotherhood. Without a mentor, Francesco was sent to train under the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore, who had traveled to Rome to fight the Borgia. Following his graduation, Francesco was chosen to lead an Assassin team and would train apprentices of his own.
By the time he was a middle-aged man in the 1520s, Francesco followed his brother and pursued a distinguished painting career in Cadore alongside his Assassin life, though he never attained Tiziano's level of fame.
Biography
Early life
Born in the town of Pieve di Cadore in the year 1475,[1] Francesco was granted membership in the Assassins as a birthright. At a very young age, he began training as the understudy to Perotto Calderon, who often thought of him as his own child[2] and described him as an "exceptional addition to our Order."
Francesco retrieving a report from Perotto
Though he trained Francesco well, Perotto also thought that it was important "to let a child be a child," and often brought him to a nearby village to play with others his own age. There, he would keep an eye on Francesco and cheer as he led the other children in their play parade.[3] When Perotto entered the service of the Borgia as a courier in 1498, Francesco was tasked with delivering his reports back to the Brotherhood. Francesco continued to train with Perotto at this time, sparring and learning battle tactics, though Perotto already thought him a match for many of the older Assassins.[2]
However, after Perotto fell for the Italian Templar Lucrezia Borgia, Francesco's untimely arrival to retrieve Perotto's reports caused them some concern. Francesco never admitted that he noticed their relationship, but at one point, he began acting withdrawn, claiming he was ill, though Perotto did not believe him. Here, Lucrezia suggested that Perotto poison his understudy in order to maintain their secret, but Perotto loved Francesco like a son and refused to harm him.[2]
Perotto's betrayal
Francesco attempting to bargain for Perotto's life
Later in 1498, Francesco was involved in the hunt for his master after Perotto broke all three tenets of the Creed in a desperate attempt to save his and Lucrezia's bastard child Giovanni, who had been diagnosed to die shortly after birth. Francesco was deeply hurt by his master's betrayal, but mostly only blamed the "Borgia harlot" for seducing him.[2]
Francesco made many attempts to persuade the Assassins to show Perotto mercy, however, due to his young age and the severity of Perotto's crimes, his objections were outweighed. Eventually, the rest of the Assassins concluded that they were duty-bound to kill Perotto.[2]
Following a trail of bodies, Borgia guards, and Assassins alike, the team tracked Perotto to Agnadello and realized that he was attempting to use the Shroud of Eden to save his son's life. Along the path, they ran into a bloodied detachment of soldiers—"sloppy work" left behind by Perotto—and were forced to engage them in battle.[2]
Francesco and the team sent after Perotto
Francesco joined the fight, however, he had never killed before. He assisted where he could, staying at the edges of the battle and mostly injuring men to be finished off by the others while the older Assassins were careful to protect him when possible. At one point, Francesco nearly received a lethal slash to the face, but was pushed to the ground before it could connect.[2]
Finally, the Assassins reached Rinaldo Vitturi's home, in which they knew the Shroud had been stored. Perotto was nowhere in sight, but the locals informed them that he had set up camp outside the city. The Assassins surrounded Perotto's camp, but despite their numbers, Perotto's skill with a bow was unmatched and he managed to kill several of them. Though still wondering if his master could be reasoned with, Francesco fired upon Perotto nonetheless. Though the arrow grazed him, Perotto only looked at Francesco sadly and did not return fire. Eventually, Perotto was overwhelmed and killed.[2]
Apprenticeship in Rome
Francesco training with Ezio in Rome
In 1501, after his mentor's death, Francesco was sent to Rome to be apprenticed to the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore. In addition to what he already knew, Ezio taught Francesco advanced freerunning, blending, and pickpocketing. Francesco closely competed with the other apprentices under Ezio, and met two of his future teammates by losing to them during the lessons.[4]
During his training over the next year, Francesco desired more advanced equipment like the Hidden Gun that Ezio used. While his teacher deemed him still unready to wield such power, he sent Francesco to seek out an alternative from the Brotherhood's ally and master inventor Leonardo da Vinci,[4] whom he had recently reunited with and knew could create unique gear. Aware that Lucrezia's elder brother Cesare had forcibly put Leonardo to work making war machines for the Templars and paid him only very little,[5] Ezio cautioned his apprentice that the polymath would likely charge a substantial sum for the commission, then warned Leonardo to reject the inevitable request for a Hidden Gun once his student had departed.[4]
At Leonardo's workshop, Francesco was disappointed when his petition for a wrist-mounted pistol was turned down, but quickly repurposed the idea to replace firepower with a smaller and more silent crossbow. Leonardo declared that the invention would be possible, but noted that it would have very limited range, required manual reloading with custom-made bolts, and would quite expensive since Francesco requested one for each wrist. Even with the high cost, the grateful apprentice readily agreed to the terms. When Francesco was given the completed pair of attachments, he left Leonardo and mused that he was a "strange man, interested in art and invention more than politics."[4]
Francesco selecting the members of his team
After completing his training, Francesco was placed in charge of a team of Assassins, whose purpose was to disrupt Cesare's influence over Italy. Notable members of his team were Cipriano Enu, who specialized in archery, and Tessa Varzi, who was skilled with poisons. While many of the team's missions took place in Rome, they also visited Romagna, Camerino, and Venice, among others.[4]
The team participated in the Defense of Camerino, rescued several prisoners Cesare Borgia was to execute merely for his entertainment, and protected the astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus and Novara.[4] They also teamed up with the former Borgia agent Fiora Cavazza to kill the Templars Rocco Tiepolo, Cahin, Caha, and Baltasar de Silva.[6]
Sometime in 1503, Francesco sought out Perotto's son Giovanni. He sent a message to him by pigeon and requested for him to meet him by a fountain. As instructed, Giovanni located Francesco using his gift and followed him through the streets as the Assassin navigated the rooftops. However, the boy ran into two thieves who attempted to rob him. Francesco swiftly leapt down and buried his dual Hidden Blades into the men, rescuing Giovanni. Francesco then asked him if he would like to come to "live with his Brothers," and at Giovanni's cheerful agreement, Francesco recruited him into the Assassin Order.[3]
Ambush at the inn
The fire at the inn
However, soon after sabotaging the competition of the French Templar Charles de la Motte in 1503, Francesco's team met with a disaster. Cesare invited Charles' forces into Rome, where they began terrorizing the citizens to purposefully lure out the Assassins.[4]
Francesco and his team hurried to intercept them, with Enu directing his archers to shoot the enemy from above, and Tessa infiltrating them to hand soldiers poisoned flowers. However, after Cesare sent in his own army, the Assassin team was overwhelmed, and they were forced to take refuge in an inn. As Francesco cursed himself for falling into Cesare's trap, the team hurried to barricade the windows and doors. Just as they were trying to devise a way to get a message to Ezio and the rest of the Order, the enemy broke through. Archers sent several flaming arrows into the room, setting the building ablaze.[4]
Enu and Francesco cornered on the roof of the inn
The team and the building's innkeeper fled to the second floor, but the floorboards shattered beneath their feet, dragging several Assassins - Tessa among them - into the flames. Here, the only exit to the roof was the window, and though Francesco tried to gather a way to bring him with them, the innkeeper solemnly told them to leave him behind.[4]
Even upon reaching the roof, there was no cover, and the remnants of the team were quickly cut down by the Borgia arquebusiers. Despite the fact that he was also injured, Francesco tried to treat a dying Enu, who had received a gunshot wound to the neck, though he gave up and the two merely sat back to back, watching as the Borgia guards closed in on them. A large explosion soon broke the silence and, although it is unknown how, Francesco was rescued and he survived.[4]
Hunt in Lonigo
Francesco gathering information in Lonigo
By 1510, Francesco had gained enough experience to perform missions alone, and had even trained his own Assassin apprentices. That year, he took on an important assignment, which involved assassinating Niccolò di Pitigliano and freeing the population of Lonigo from the latter's rule.[7]
Francesco first began gathering information on his target by spending time with the patrons at the local tavern and brothel, as well as intercepting Niccolò's couriers. Over time, Francesco discovered the reasons for the citizens' dissatisfaction, as well as learning that Niccolò maintained contact with someone in Rome. He then moved to study Niccolò himself, and choose the right opportunity to strike.[7]
Francesco confronting Niccolò
After learning of Niccolò's daily activities and slowly destroying his influence over Lonigo, Francesco prepared to assault Niccolò's home directly. For this, he called in several of his students and fellow Assassins for aid. As his Brothers distracted the villa guards, Francesco snuck into the building and assassinated Niccolò. He left after dealing his target a grievous blow, but Niccolò managed to crawl to the hiding place of the Shroud, which he used to rejuvenate himself. However, when the artifact eventually backfired and brought Niccolò's brutal end, Francesco returned and took possession of it.[7]
Painting career and legacy
By the 1520s, Francesco began pursuing a painting career in Cadore alongside his Assassin life. In 1524, Francesco signed an altarpiece for San Vito in Cadore. During the 1540s, he painted a polyptych in Candide, as well as the Venetian church Chiesa di San Salvatore's organ shutters. He also painted an Annunciation for San Nicola di Bari, which currently resides in the Gallerie dell'Accademia.[1] While these works garnered him much acclaim, he never became as successful as his brother Tiziano.
In 2012, the Templar front-company Abstergo Industries extracted his genetic memories from one of his descendants and explored them via the Data Dump Scanner as part of their Project Legacy initiative.[8]
Personality and traits
Tessa and Francesco on a mission
In his younger years, Perotto found Francesco to be wise beyond his age, commenting that "speaking with him is like speaking to an adult at times."[3] However, he also noticed that he had a "needless sense of honor and fair play," one that he feared would teach Francesco a hard lesson one day.[2]
As Francesco trained under Perotto, his master observed him to be both eager and thorough, but also a perfectionist. He would repeat his questions, and insist that Perotto repeat a lesson until he was sure he had mastered it, sometimes frustrating the older Assassin.[3]
Francesco also possessed something of a temper, his sword strikes usually fueled by anger and emotion, and easy to intercept. Perotto would often calm him, and insist that emotion was a weakness.[3] Even upon training under Ezio, Francesco still occasionally grew irritable or impatient upon being beaten during the exercises.[4]
Francesco cared for his master, who he owed so much, saying that Perotto had taught him "how to fight, how to live." As such, he harshly blamed Lucrezia for Perotto's betrayal of the Brotherhood, and his blinded pursuit to save his son using the Shroud.[2] Francesco was also protective of his Assassin teammates, and became almost inconsolable after the deaths of so many of them at the inn in 1503.[4]
After the loss of nearly his entire Assassin team, by 1510, Francesco had grown more severe, and willing to do anything to accomplish his missions. He did not hesitate to interrogate or kill potential informants, but still remained careful to respect innocent citizens.[7]
At this time, he described himself to be a "man of detail", and his inclination for perfection allowed him to be meticulous in his assassinations. Francesco was careful to plan several potential escape routes, and use many methods to study and anticipate the movements of his targets, or their guards.[7]
Francesco with Leonardo da Vinci
Though he had trained his entire life to be an Assassin, Francesco was intrigued by Leonardo da Vinci's interest in art rather than politics or warfare. This likely inspired him to pursue his own, similar career later on.[4]
Even while still participating in missions for the Order, Francesco possessed an amount of respect for artwork. In 1510, though he and his associates managed to steal Niccolò di Pitigliano's art collection, instead of having the pieces sold, Francesco insisted that they be given to him to ensure that they were cared for.[7]
Skills and equipment
Francesco was the only known Assassin to wield the Hidden Bolt, a weapon that could fire small crossbow bolts. Since Ezio had not initially allowed him to use the Hidden Gun, Francesco requested that Leonardo da Vinci create a lighter, silent alternative.[4] Although the right to wield dual Hidden Blades was usually restricted to Master Assassins,[9] Francesco was allowed to bear them while still training as Ezio's apprentice.[3] His Assassin robes closely resembled the set Ezio inherited from his father Giovanni in 1476.[10]
Gallery
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Memories
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
Francesco Vecellio on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy – Italian Wars: Chapter 4 – Perotto Calderon
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy – Rome: Chapter 2 – Giovanni Borgia
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy – Rome: Chapter 3 – Francesco Vecellio
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – An Unexpected Visitor
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy – Rome: Chapter 1 – Fiora Cavazza
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy – Italian Wars: Chapter 2 – Francesco Vecellio
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – [citation needed]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Family Heirloom
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