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- "Micheletto. The best killer in Roma. No one escapes him."
- ―La Volpe to Ezio Auditore.[src]
Micheletto Corella (1470–1506), also known as Michele di Coreglia or Miguel de Corella, was a condottiero and a member of the Templar Order. At one point, he was also the Governor of Piombino.
Biography
Early life
Micheletto Corella was born in Spain, within Valencia, but was taken to live in Rome, Italy, at a fairly young age. As a young boy, he and Cesare Borgia were very close; whether this bond was friendship or the simple link between master and servant has not been made clear over time.
They both grew up together in Rome, a lofty position bestowed upon Micheletto due to his relationship with the son of a man so high in society. They never left each other's side and eventually grew into the men that went on to conquer Rome with pure force. Micheletto stayed with Cesare in the position of loyal bodyguard and pet assassin, perfecting his skills with the strangling cord until he became the perfect killer.[1]
Cesare's right-hand man
Micheletto would go on to become the most loyal of Cesare's servants, often acting as an executioner and killing those who stood in his master's way. All these services led to him being named Cesare's right-hand man, though he still served the Borgia family on a whole. He became a condottiero and was named the governor of Piombino for a short period of time.[1]
In January 1500, Micheletto accompanied Cesare, along with Lucrezia Borgia, Juan Borgia, and Octavian de Valois to lay siege to Monteriggioni. After destroying the Auditore's defenses, the group walked through the gates of the town, having subdued Mario Auditore and having captured Caterina Sforza and the Apple of Eden. Micheletto then watched his master speak to Ezio Auditore, before shooting Mario through the head. Successful in their objective, the party returned to Rome.[1]
Murders
Micheletto strangles Vitellozzo and Oliverotto.
Many of Micheletto's murders went unrecorded, though knowledge of a few were kept known throughout the years. The Church aided Micheletto by covering up or ignoring his killings.
On 18 August 1500, Alfonso of Aragon, the husband of Cesare's sister, Lucrezia Borgia, was killed by Micheletto on Cesare's orders, as the latter was jealous of Alfonso.[1]
In 1502, Micheletto killed Giulio Cesare da Varano and three of his sons, enabling Cesare to take over Camerino.[1]
Micheletto killed Astorre III Manfredi, the Lord of Faenza, on 9 June 1502 inside the Castel Sant'Angelo.[1]
On 31 December 1502, Cesare ordered the arrest of all his top captains who had once left his ranks, and who he later invited to rejoin him. Two of these, Oliverotto da Fermo and Vitellozzo Vitelli, were strangled back to back by Micheletto. The rest were thrown in prison.[1][2]
Teaching Giovanni
At times between 1500 and 1503, Micheletto was left to guard and teach Giovanni Borgia, Cesare's adopted son, and Lucrezia's biological child. He attempted to instruct Giovanni in how to be both tough and merciless, often beating him to force him to learn how to defend himself.[3]
Micheletto in a "lesson" with Giovanni.
At one point, Micheletto brought Giovanni into the city, and instructed him to engage an old man in conversation. As the boy spoke with him, Micheletto approached the old man from behind, and strangled him to death, merely to teach Giovanni the cruelties of the world.[3]
These "lessons" only resulted in Giovanni hating Micheletto, and eventually prompting him to run away from home.[3]
Final tasks
- "You cannot save Pietro. The wine he drank was poisoned. As I promised Cesare, I made doubly sure."
- ―Micheletto to Ezio.[src]
Francesco Troche being killed by Micheletto.
In August 1503, not long after the death of Octavian de Valois, Micheletto accompanied Cesare to a meeting with Francesco Troche, who had told his brother Egidio of Cesare's plans for Romagna. Egidio had sent letters to the ambassador of Venice to warn him, though these letters had been intercepted. Francesco pleaded Cesare to spare his life, but he was ultimately strangled to death by Micheletto, and his body was thrown in the Tiber River.[1]
Micheletto then went on to meet with a few Borgia guards, giving them costumes with which they could infiltrate the Colosseum Passion Play to kill Pietro Rossi, Lucrezia's latest lover. Unbeknownst to him, he was being followed by the Assassin, Ezio Auditore, who had sent his apprentices to take down all the aforementioned guards, and steal the costumes they had been given.[1]
Ezio continued to follow Micheletto to the Colosseum, where he took down all the Borgia arquebusiers posted there. Donning his own costume, Ezio followed Micheletto onstage, where they both joined the play.[1]
Ezio about to kill Micheletto.
As soon as Ezio came close to Micheletto, he stabbed him with his hidden blade. In his last moments, he reveled in the fact that he had poisoned Pietro's wine, and that Ezio would be too late to save him. However, Ezio did not kill Micheletto, letting him go and saying that in his quest to empower Cesare, he himself would cause his own downfall.[1]
Cesare later killed his father, Pope Alexander VI, after the latter attempted to poison Cesare. As a result, the Borgias' influence over Rome was gone and Cesare became powerless. Cesare sent Micheletto to gather an army to take back Rome, though he never arrived; and instead, Cesare was captured by the Papal Guard. With his master imprisoned, Micheletto fled Rome.[1]
Confinement and escape
- "Chains will not hold me. Any more than they will hold my master."
- ―Micheletto upon being captured by the Assassins.[src]
After Cesare's imprisonment, Micheletto went from place to place, finally holing up in Zagarolo. The Assassins located him, and met him with a small battalion. Micheletto and his men fought bravely, however they were no match for the Assassins, and were ultimately defeated. Arresting Micheletto, the Assassins took him to Florence, where he was imprisoned in the Palazzo della Signoria. He was then interrogated and tortured by Niccolò Machiavelli, Piero Soderini, and Amerigo Vespucci. Giving nothing away, Micheletto was then sentenced to execution, but the day before that was to happen, he escaped with the help of a few die-hards.[4]
Rescuing Cesare and death
- "Is this my reward? For all my years of faithful service?"
- ―Micheletto argues with Cesare.[src]
After escaping from his prison, Micheletto traveled to Valencia, where he stayed at the Lone Wolf Inn. He and his followers set up shop in the Inn, however, they were confronted by Ezio and Machiavelli. After a brief skirmish, in which most of Micheletto's men were killed, he fled the scene. Micheletto then made his way to the Castillo de la Mota, where his master, Cesare, had been imprisoned. Using a most intricate plan, Micheletto and his followers were able to free Cesare from his prison.
Micheletto Corella's portrait.
Along with his master, Micheletto once again traveled to Valencia, where his master set to work, mobilizing his forces. Their forces, however, were soon broken after an attack by the Assassins. Micheletto then met with his master at their headquarters, the Lone Wolf Inn. While Cesare explained his further plans, Micheletto stated that he would aid his master. Cesare, however, merely commented that Micheletto had failed him. Enraged by this, Micheletto attacked his master, however, Cesare was quicker than him, and shot him through the head.[4]
Personality
- "I obey, Cesare."
- ―Micheletto to his master, Cesare.[src]
Micheletto was the most loyal of Cesare's followers, complying with his every demand. A man of steely determination, Micheletto often went to great lengths to see that his master's will was fulfilled. Micheletto proved to be quite an insecure man as well, showing extreme discontent when his master did not reward him for his services, as is clear from his outburst when Cesare refused to acknowledge that he had saved him.
Also a very cruel man, Micheletto had no qualms about killing an innocent man, in fact, it seems as if he rather enjoyed killing his victims. In addition to his strong exterior, Micheletto was also very strong willed, traits that were useful to ensure that he did not give away his master's location when tortured.
Final words
(As Ezio attempts to stab Micheletto, he laughs.)
- Micheletto: You cannot save Pietro. The wine he drank was poisoned. As I promised Cesare, I made doubly sure. (Ezio gets up and leaves him.) I am not yet dead.
- Ezio: I did not come here to kill you. He who is the cause of someone else becoming powerful is the agent of his own destruction.
Trivia
- In the mobile phone version of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Micheletto is called Michelotto.
- Upon "assassinating" Micheletto, he is wearing his Passion play costume. However, when he is uttering his "final" words, he is wearing his ordinary clothes.
- During Micheletto's "final" words, Ezio will hold up his right hidden blade to Micheletto's throat, regardless of whether the player had purchased the second blade from Leonardo.
- Historically, Micheletto later worked in Florence from 1505 to 1507, and was killed in Milan on January 1508.
- Ezio's last statement to Micheletto, "He who is the cause of someone else becoming powerful, is the agent of his own destruction", can be found in Chapter 3 of Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, albeit in more detail.
- Micheletto is the second target spared by Ezio, and the third to be spared in the Assassin's Creed series. The others include Maria Thorpe (spared by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad), and Rodrigo Borgia.
References