The Palazzo Medici is a palace in the Italian city of Florence, former seat of the Medici family.
History[]
The palace was designed and completed by the architect Michelozzo, who was extensively employed by Cosimo de' Medici. It was supposedly designed according to the values of humanism, the dominant ideology of the Renaissance, which attempts to engage the viewer with structures built on a more human scale.[1]
Filippo Brunelleschi previously worked on the design on the palace including the courtyard, which would have led to a more open façade. However, his idea was ultimately rejected by Cosimo.[1]
During the Renaissance, the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze rescued Lorenzo de' Medici from Pazzi soldiers who had broken into his home in retaliation for Francesco's assassination. After killing the invaders, Ezio finally located Lorenzo in a hidden room, assuring him that the threat had been dealt with. His reward for saving Lorenzo was access to a stash of florins located in a strong box.[2] A year later, in 1480, after finding and eliminating all of the remaining Pazzi conspirators, Ezio met with Lorenzo in the courtyard, and received the Medici cape as a reward.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The Palazzo Medici is a historical building and location in Assassin's Creed II. Among the paintings hung around the residence, a couple of them are anachronistic. Madonna del Cardellino by Raphael was painted in c. 1505, Fruits and Pieces of Seafood by Jan Davidsz. de Heem was painted in 1659. The Battaglia di San Romano by Paolo Uccello painted in 1438 and Procession of the Oldest King (west wall) by Benozzo Gozzoli painted in c. 1459 are among the few that were correct for the times.
Access to the interior courtyard and roof is possible by using a glitch from a nearby viewpoint, or by hanging off of said viewpoint on the south side and launching Ezio toward the corner of the roof.[4] No textures exist inside the interior courtyard. Also, escape is impossible even with the "Climb Leap" technique.