Assassin's Creed Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Niccolò Machiavelli

2011-01-09T03:30:26Z

24.100.2.158:

{{Era|AC2|Assassins|Ren}}
{{WP-REAL}}
{{spoilerhd}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
|image = char_machiavelli.png
|imgdesc = Niccolò Machiavelli, as he appeared in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''.
|birth = 3 May 1469 [[Florence]], [[Italy]]
|death = 21 June 1527 (aged 58)
|period = [[Renaissance]] (15th century)
|faction = [[Assassins]] [[Mercenaries]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''
|voice = [[Shawn Baichoo]]
}}
{{Quote|I am an Assassin. Trained in the ancient ways to safeguard mankind's evolution. Just like you, and each one of us here.|Machiavelli to Ezio upon their first meeting|Assassin's Creed II}}

'''Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli''' (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an [[Italy|Italian]] philosopher, writer, and is considered one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, musician, and playwright, but foremost he was a civil servant of the Florentine Republic. He was most famous for writing ''The Prince'', which lays out guides to achieving political power through, among other techniques, the art of deception and manipulation, establishing what would later be known as "Machiavellian ideas".

==Biography==
===Early life===
Niccolò was born in [[Florence]] as the third son of attorney Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli and his wife Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli.

Niccolò was trained and inducted into the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]] at an early age.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>

===Acquiring the Apple of Eden===
At age 19, Niccolò and a group of other Assassins gathered in [[Venice]] to acquire the "[[First Apple|Apple of Eden]]" from [[Rodrigo Borgia]], the [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. When the group arrived at Rodrigo's location, they found him fighting with [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]], the son of the the late Assassin [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni Auditore]]. The other Assassins rushed to Ezio's aid, whereas Niccolò watched from the distance.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

After the group killed the guards and severely injured Rodrigo, the group revealed themselves to be Assassins to Ezio, which was previously unknown by him. They went on to a tall tower in Venice, where they inducted Ezio into the Order before one after the other performing [[Leap of Faith|Leaps of Faith]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===Battle of Forlì===
Niccolò, [[Mario Auditore]], Ezio and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] studied the Apple of Eden in Leonardo's workshop. Upon accidentally activating it, the four concluded that the Apple's power was too powerful and that Rodrigo would be relentless to get it back. Mario figured the best way to protect the Apple would be to take it to the [[Rocca di Ravaldino]] in [[Forlì]], as Forlì was ruled by their ally [[Caterina Sforza]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

Niccolò and Ezio met with Caterina in the countryside of [[Romagna]]. As they walked towards Forlì, Caterina explained that she killed her husband [[Girolamo Riario]] because he was a member of the Templar Order and for personal reasons. As they were nearing Forlì, they found a lot of its citizens running away scared. One of them explained that the city was under attack by the [[House of Orsi|Orsi brothers]], the same men Caterina hired to kill her husband. Niccolò concluded that they were hired by Rodrigo to obtain the map Girolamo made of all the [[Codex]] pages. By the time the group arrived at Forlì, the Orsi had already taken control of it and closed the gates. Ezio managed to stealthily enter the city by swimming under a gate in the water and after traversing the wall, opened the city gates.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

Niccolò, Ezio and Caterina then proceeded on to the Rocca di Ravaldino, killing any Templar guard that stood in their way. When they finally arrived at the citadel and rid it of all Templars, they found out that the Orsi brothers had taken two of Caterina's children hostage. Ezio went to rescue the children and left the Apple in the hands of Caterina and Niccolò, who remained in the citadel. As Ezio left, the Templars attacked the citadel again and were victorious in retrieving the Apple, which was now in the hands of the remaining Orsi brother [[Checco Orsi|Checco]] (the other having been killed by Ezio to save Caterina's son). Ezio tracked down and killed Checco, but was stabbed himself by the latter as the latter spoke his final words. As he tried to walk back to Forlì, he lost consciousness and saw the Apple being stolen from him by a monk, which he later found out was [[Girolamo Savonarola]]. Hearing of the failure to retrieve the Apple, Niccolò went back to Florence.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===Bonfire of the Vanities===
In 1497, Niccolò met with Ezio again in Florence and informed him that Savonarola had taken control of the city by using the Apple. Ezio figured that if he killed all nine of Savonarola's lieutenants, his grip would weaken. Niccolò informed [[La Volpe]] and [[Paola]] of Ezio's plan and with each lieutenant killed, the three encouraged the people to stand up against Savonarola.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

When all the lieutenants were killed, an angry mob swarmed Savonarola's residence, the [[Palazzo Pitti]]. Savonarola tried to calm the crowd with the Apple, but Ezio knocked it out of his hand with a well-thrown knife and one of Rodrigo Borgia's men acquired it, causing Ezio to chase him down and retrieve it. Savonarola was then taken to be burned alive and the Assassins watched from the distance. Ezio figured that no one should die in such agony and killed him before the flames could reach him. After Ezio gave a speech to inspire the crowd to follow their own ways, the Assassins left the scene.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

[[File:Ezio and Niccolò.JPG|thumb|left|Niccolò and Ezio meet in Rome.]]
===War with the Borgia===
{{dialogue|Machiavelli|I intend to write a book about you one day.|Ezio|If you do, make it short.|Ezio and Machiavelli, after settling all their differences.|Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood}}
In December 1499, Niccolò, Ezio, [[Mario Auditore]], [[Bartolomeo d'Alviano]], [[La Volpe]], [[Antonio de Magianis]], [[Paola]] and [[Teodora Contanto]], some of the most high-ranking Assassins, gathered in the [[Villa Auditore]] in [[Monteriggioni]] to discuss the location of "[[the Vault]]". They came to the conclusion that the Vault was located in [[Rome]] and that Rodrigo Borgia had become Pope because the Papal Staff was the [[The Staff|second Piece of Eden]]. All of them left for Rome to distract the Borgia guards while Ezio infiltrated [[Vaticano District|the Vatican]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

Niccolò returned to Monteriggioni to listen to what Ezio had discovered inside the Vault. Upon hearing that Ezio spared Rodrigo, he furiously left for Rome to take down the Borgia once and for all. The following morning, Monteriggioni was [[Siege of Monteriggioni|attacked]] by the Borgia, under the command of [[Cesare Borgia]]. Niccolò's disappearance right in front of the attack aroused some suspicion with La Volpe, who thought that Machiavelli was secretly working for the Borgia. During the attack, Mario Auditore was killed and Niccolò took command over the chaotic Assassin Order, basing themselves on [[Tiber Island]] in Rome.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>

Following the attack, Ezio left for Rome as well, but succumbed to a gunshot wound he received during the attack on his journey. Niccolò brought him to a woman living in Rome's countryside, who took care of Ezio's wounds. He also left Ezio a message to come meet him in front of the [[Mausoleo di Augusto]]. Upon meeting Ezio there, Niccolò informed him of Rome's corrupt state and lended him some money to buy himself some equipment. He also 'introduced' him to the [[Followers of Romulus]], who he expected to be working for the Borgia, and showed him a faster way of travelling via the city's sewer system, which they used to get back to their hideout. One of the Assassins' few allies, [[Fabio Orsini]], who had lent the hideout to the Assassins, was waiting for them there.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

In 1503, [[La Volpe]] believed he had gathered enough evidence that Niccolò was working for the Borgia and therefore told Ezio to "do what he had to do". As Ezio was sure that Niccolò wasn't a traitor, he did not kill him. Instead, La Volpe himself left for Tiber Island, ready to assassinate Niccolò. Ezio, however, found out that one of La Volpe's own [[thieves]] was the traitor and managed to inform La Volpe of this, seconds before he would kill Niccolò. La Volpe, pretending that nothing had happened, came back into contact with Niccolò afterwards.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

Over the course of three years, Niccolò began to realize that Ezio was the better leader, as he was the one who was actually leading the war against the Borgia and had revived the Order back to its former glory. Thus, after Ezio's sister [[Claudia Auditore da Firenze]]'s initiation into the Brotherhood, Niccolò placed Ezio at the head of the Assassin Order. When Ezio asked why he had a sudden change of heart, Niccolò admitted that he had always stood by Ezio and had helped him in various tasks, saying that he always had faith in him. Ezio in turn made Niccolò his "most trusted advisor". Niccolò planned to write a book about Ezio, with the latter asking that it be short before performing a leap of faith to finally kill the Borgias. Whether he ever did so is unknown, although it may be a reference to his notoriously short story "The Prince."<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

===Florentine militia===
Shortly afterwards, between 1503 and 1506, Machiavelli returned to Florence, where he was responsible for leading the Florentine militia. Strangely, he noted on multiple occasions he distrusted mercenaries, while he in fact led the Florentine mercenaries. His militia managed to defeat [[wikipedia:Pisa|Pisa]] in 1509. However, in August 1512, they were defeated by the [[House of Medici|Medici]], aided by Spanish troops and [[wikipedia:Pope Julius II|Pope Julius II]]. Florence was dissolved as a city-state. Machiavelli was deprived of office in 1512 and arrested in 1513, accused of conspiracy. He was tortured in prison, though he denied involvement in any conspiracy. He was released and he retired to his estate in Sant'Andrea in Percussina.

===Later life===
During his stay at his estate, he wrote ''Il Principe'' ("''The Prince''"), which was one relatively short book, written in a few months. ''The Prince'' was written for a specific reason during a specific time in Italian history (a period when the Medici family had the opportunity to build a strong Italian state in central Italy and drive out the 'barbarians'). He also wrote the ''Discourses of Livy''. This thesis (which was written over a significant period of his life) reflected Machiavelli's more republican notions of government, and is a far more comprehensive thesis than ''The Prince''. Together the ''Discourses'' and ''The Prince'' show us that, in real life, he was an individual who preferred a republican government, but was prepared to accept a principality if it ensured the survival of the state.

Machiavelli died on 21 June 1527, aged 58. His final resting place is the [[Basilica di Santa Croce]] in Florence.

==Trivia==
*The fact that the in-game Machiavelli was the leader of Florence's [[mercenaries]] doesn't match with his real-life counterpart. In real life, Machiavelli was against the use of mercenaries, because he believed that they were unreliable. However, it is possible that mercenaries were meant to represent the Florentine militia, which Machiavelli commanded in real life. This is supported by the fact that he made complaints about mercenaries during the Bonfire of the Vanities.
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]]'', Machiavelli himself tells Ezio Auditore that [[Christina Vespucci]] and her husband [[Manfredo Soderini|Manfredo Sodernini were]] murdered by Savonarola's men, however in ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'', Ezio manages to get to them both individually just moments before they both die and Machiavelli is not mentioned at all during this memory.
*Despite being only 19 when he first met Ezio Auditore, Machiavellli acted very mature towards his elder Assassin.
*If Ezio (via the player) chooses to do nothing during the moment where Savonarola tries to silence the crowd in Bonfire of the Vanities, Machiavelli himself will step in and be the one to throw a knife at Savonarola's hand.
*Historically, Machiavelli had good relations with the Borgia family. In 1502, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Cesare Borgia. He called Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI a very successful politician, because he was the prototype of a leader who has no scruples to reach his target, and historically, it is also said that Machiavelli greatly admired Cesare Borgia.
*In ''Brotherhood'', it is suggested that a few of [[Easter Eggs#Machiavelli's Works|Machiavelli's later works]] were inspired by his interactions with Ezio.

==Gallery==
===Artwork and portraits===

<center><gallery captionalign="left">
Image:AC2-M.jpg|Concept art for Niccolò Machiavelli.
Image:Machiavelli pose.jpg|Machiavelli with a longsword.
acbnm.png|Niccolò Machiavelli's database profile.
</gallery></center>
===In-game===

<center><gallery>
liuydsg.jpg|Machiavelli at Ezio's initiation.
Niccolo.jpg|Niccolò in 1500.
</gallery></center>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{ACII}}
{{ACBH}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machiavelli, Niccolò}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Characters]]
[[Category:Assassins]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]

Niccolò Machiavelli

2011-01-09T03:28:19Z

24.100.2.158:

{{Era|AC2|Assassins|Ren}}
{{WP-REAL}}
{{spoilerhd}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
|image = char_machiavelli.png
|imgdesc = Niccolò Machiavelli, as he appeared in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''.
|birth = 3 May 1469 [[Florence]], [[Italy]]
|death = 21 June 1527 (aged 58)
|period = [[Renaissance]] (15th century)
|faction = [[Assassins]] [[Mercenaries]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''
|voice = [[Shawn Baichoo]]
}}
{{Quote|I am an Assassin. Trained in the ancient ways to safeguard mankind's evolution. Just like you, and each one of us here.|Machiavelli to Ezio upon their first meeting|Assassin's Creed II}}

'''Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli''' (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an [[Italy|Italian]] philosopher, writer, and is considered one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, musician, and playwright, but foremost he was a civil servant of the Florentine Republic. He was most famous for writing ''The Prince'', which lays out guides to achieving political power through, among other techniques, the art of deception and manipulation.

==Biography==
===Early life===
Niccolò was born in [[Florence]] as the third son of attorney Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli and his wife Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli.

Niccolò was trained and inducted into the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]] at an early age.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>

===Acquiring the Apple of Eden===
At age 19, Niccolò and a group of other Assassins gathered in [[Venice]] to acquire the "[[First Apple|Apple of Eden]]" from [[Rodrigo Borgia]], the [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. When the group arrived at Rodrigo's location, they found him fighting with [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]], the son of the the late Assassin [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni Auditore]]. The other Assassins rushed to Ezio's aid, whereas Niccolò watched from the distance.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

After the group killed the guards and severely injured Rodrigo, the group revealed themselves to be Assassins to Ezio, which was previously unknown by him. They went on to a tall tower in Venice, where they inducted Ezio into the Order before one after the other performing [[Leap of Faith|Leaps of Faith]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===Battle of Forlì===
Niccolò, [[Mario Auditore]], Ezio and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] studied the Apple of Eden in Leonardo's workshop. Upon accidentally activating it, the four concluded that the Apple's power was too powerful and that Rodrigo would be relentless to get it back. Mario figured the best way to protect the Apple would be to take it to the [[Rocca di Ravaldino]] in [[Forlì]], as Forlì was ruled by their ally [[Caterina Sforza]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

Niccolò and Ezio met with Caterina in the countryside of [[Romagna]]. As they walked towards Forlì, Caterina explained that she killed her husband [[Girolamo Riario]] because he was a member of the Templar Order and for personal reasons. As they were nearing Forlì, they found a lot of its citizens running away scared. One of them explained that the city was under attack by the [[House of Orsi|Orsi brothers]], the same men Caterina hired to kill her husband. Niccolò concluded that they were hired by Rodrigo to obtain the map Girolamo made of all the [[Codex]] pages. By the time the group arrived at Forlì, the Orsi had already taken control of it and closed the gates. Ezio managed to stealthily enter the city by swimming under a gate in the water and after traversing the wall, opened the city gates.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

Niccolò, Ezio and Caterina then proceeded on to the Rocca di Ravaldino, killing any Templar guard that stood in their way. When they finally arrived at the citadel and rid it of all Templars, they found out that the Orsi brothers had taken two of Caterina's children hostage. Ezio went to rescue the children and left the Apple in the hands of Caterina and Niccolò, who remained in the citadel. As Ezio left, the Templars attacked the citadel again and were victorious in retrieving the Apple, which was now in the hands of the remaining Orsi brother [[Checco Orsi|Checco]] (the other having been killed by Ezio to save Caterina's son). Ezio tracked down and killed Checco, but was stabbed himself by the latter as the latter spoke his final words. As he tried to walk back to Forlì, he lost consciousness and saw the Apple being stolen from him by a monk, which he later found out was [[Girolamo Savonarola]]. Hearing of the failure to retrieve the Apple, Niccolò went back to Florence.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

===Bonfire of the Vanities===
In 1497, Niccolò met with Ezio again in Florence and informed him that Savonarola had taken control of the city by using the Apple. Ezio figured that if he killed all nine of Savonarola's lieutenants, his grip would weaken. Niccolò informed [[La Volpe]] and [[Paola]] of Ezio's plan and with each lieutenant killed, the three encouraged the people to stand up against Savonarola.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

When all the lieutenants were killed, an angry mob swarmed Savonarola's residence, the [[Palazzo Pitti]]. Savonarola tried to calm the crowd with the Apple, but Ezio knocked it out of his hand with a well-thrown knife and one of Rodrigo Borgia's men acquired it, causing Ezio to chase him down and retrieve it. Savonarola was then taken to be burned alive and the Assassins watched from the distance. Ezio figured that no one should die in such agony and killed him before the flames could reach him. After Ezio gave a speech to inspire the crowd to follow their own ways, the Assassins left the scene.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II"/>

[[File:Ezio and Niccolò.JPG|thumb|left|Niccolò and Ezio meet in Rome.]]
===War with the Borgia===
{{dialogue|Machiavelli|I intend to write a book about you one day.|Ezio|If you do, make it short.|Ezio and Machiavelli, after settling all their differences.|Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood}}
In December 1499, Niccolò, Ezio, [[Mario Auditore]], [[Bartolomeo d'Alviano]], [[La Volpe]], [[Antonio de Magianis]], [[Paola]] and [[Teodora Contanto]], some of the most high-ranking Assassins, gathered in the [[Villa Auditore]] in [[Monteriggioni]] to discuss the location of "[[the Vault]]". They came to the conclusion that the Vault was located in [[Rome]] and that Rodrigo Borgia had become Pope because the Papal Staff was the [[The Staff|second Piece of Eden]]. All of them left for Rome to distract the Borgia guards while Ezio infiltrated [[Vaticano District|the Vatican]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

Niccolò returned to Monteriggioni to listen to what Ezio had discovered inside the Vault. Upon hearing that Ezio spared Rodrigo, he furiously left for Rome to take down the Borgia once and for all. The following morning, Monteriggioni was [[Siege of Monteriggioni|attacked]] by the Borgia, under the command of [[Cesare Borgia]]. Niccolò's disappearance right in front of the attack aroused some suspicion with La Volpe, who thought that Machiavelli was secretly working for the Borgia. During the attack, Mario Auditore was killed and Niccolò took command over the chaotic Assassin Order, basing themselves on [[Tiber Island]] in Rome.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>

Following the attack, Ezio left for Rome as well, but succumbed to a gunshot wound he received during the attack on his journey. Niccolò brought him to a woman living in Rome's countryside, who took care of Ezio's wounds. He also left Ezio a message to come meet him in front of the [[Mausoleo di Augusto]]. Upon meeting Ezio there, Niccolò informed him of Rome's corrupt state and lended him some money to buy himself some equipment. He also 'introduced' him to the [[Followers of Romulus]], who he expected to be working for the Borgia, and showed him a faster way of travelling via the city's sewer system, which they used to get back to their hideout. One of the Assassins' few allies, [[Fabio Orsini]], who had lent the hideout to the Assassins, was waiting for them there.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

In 1503, [[La Volpe]] believed he had gathered enough evidence that Niccolò was working for the Borgia and therefore told Ezio to "do what he had to do". As Ezio was sure that Niccolò wasn't a traitor, he did not kill him. Instead, La Volpe himself left for Tiber Island, ready to assassinate Niccolò. Ezio, however, found out that one of La Volpe's own [[thieves]] was the traitor and managed to inform La Volpe of this, seconds before he would kill Niccolò. La Volpe, pretending that nothing had happened, came back into contact with Niccolò afterwards.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

Over the course of three years, Niccolò began to realize that Ezio was the better leader, as he was the one who was actually leading the war against the Borgia and had revived the Order back to its former glory. Thus, after Ezio's sister [[Claudia Auditore da Firenze]]'s initiation into the Brotherhood, Niccolò placed Ezio at the head of the Assassin Order. When Ezio asked why he had a sudden change of heart, Niccolò admitted that he had always stood by Ezio and had helped him in various tasks, saying that he always had faith in him. Ezio in turn made Niccolò his "most trusted advisor". Niccolò planned to write a book about Ezio, with the latter asking that it be short before performing a leap of faith to finally kill the Borgias. Whether he ever did so is unknown, although it may be a reference to his notoriously short story "The Prince."<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

===Florentine militia===
Shortly afterwards, between 1503 and 1506, Machiavelli returned to Florence, where he was responsible for leading the Florentine militia. Strangely, he noted on multiple occasions he distrusted mercenaries, while he in fact led the Florentine mercenaries. His militia managed to defeat [[wikipedia:Pisa|Pisa]] in 1509. However, in August 1512, they were defeated by the [[House of Medici|Medici]], aided by Spanish troops and [[wikipedia:Pope Julius II|Pope Julius II]]. Florence was dissolved as a city-state. Machiavelli was deprived of office in 1512 and arrested in 1513, accused of conspiracy. He was tortured in prison, though he denied involvement in any conspiracy. He was released and he retired to his estate in Sant'Andrea in Percussina.

===Later life===
During his stay at his estate, he wrote ''Il Principe'' ("''The Prince''"), which was one relatively short book, written in a few months. ''The Prince'' was written for a specific reason during a specific time in Italian history (a period when the Medici family had the opportunity to build a strong Italian state in central Italy and drive out the 'barbarians'). He also wrote the ''Discourses of Livy''. This thesis (which was written over a significant period of his life) reflected Machiavelli's more republican notions of government, and is a far more comprehensive thesis than ''The Prince''. Together the ''Discourses'' and ''The Prince'' show us that, in real life, he was an individual who preferred a republican government, but was prepared to accept a principality if it ensured the survival of the state.

Machiavelli died on 21 June 1527, aged 58. His final resting place is the [[Basilica di Santa Croce]] in Florence.

==Trivia==
*The fact that the in-game Machiavelli was the leader of Florence's [[mercenaries]] doesn't match with his real-life counterpart. In real life, Machiavelli was against the use of mercenaries, because he believed that they were unreliable. However, it is possible that mercenaries were meant to represent the Florentine militia, which Machiavelli commanded in real life. This is supported by the fact that he made complaints about mercenaries during the Bonfire of the Vanities.
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]]'', Machiavelli himself tells Ezio Auditore that [[Christina Vespucci]] and her husband [[Manfredo Soderini|Manfredo Sodernini were]] murdered by Savonarola's men, however in ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'', Ezio manages to get to them both individually just moments before they both die and Machiavelli is not mentioned at all during this memory.
*Despite being only 19 when he first met Ezio Auditore, Machiavellli acted very mature towards his elder Assassin.
*If Ezio (via the player) chooses to do nothing during the moment where Savonarola tries to silence the crowd in Bonfire of the Vanities, Machiavelli himself will step in and be the one to throw a knife at Savonarola's hand.
*Historically, Machiavelli had good relations with the Borgia family. In 1502, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Cesare Borgia. He called Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI a very successful politician, because he was the prototype of a leader who has no scruples to reach his target, and historically, it is also said that Machiavelli greatly admired Cesare Borgia.
*In ''Brotherhood'', it is suggested that a few of [[Easter Eggs#Machiavelli's Works|Machiavelli's later works]] were inspired by his interactions with Ezio.

==Gallery==
===Artwork and portraits===

<center><gallery captionalign="left">
Image:AC2-M.jpg|Concept art for Niccolò Machiavelli.
Image:Machiavelli pose.jpg|Machiavelli with a longsword.
acbnm.png|Niccolò Machiavelli's database profile.
</gallery></center>
===In-game===

<center><gallery>
liuydsg.jpg|Machiavelli at Ezio's initiation.
Niccolo.jpg|Niccolò in 1500.
</gallery></center>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{ACII}}
{{ACBH}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machiavelli, Niccolò}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Characters]]
[[Category:Assassins]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]

Mario Auditore

2010-12-28T21:42:03Z

24.100.2.158: /* Trivia */

{{Era|AC2|Assassins|Ren|Featured}}
{{Spoilerhd}}
{{Character Infobox

|name = Mario Auditore
|image = char mario.png
|birth = 1434 [[Monteriggioni]], [[Italy]]
|death = January 1500 [[Monteriggioni]], [[Italy]]
|period = Italian [[Renaissance]]
|faction = [[Assassins]], [[Mercenaries]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''
|voice = [[Fred Tatasciore]]
}}
{{quote|Don't you recognize me? It's a-me, Mario!|Mario meeting Ezio.|Assassin's Creed II}}

'''Mario Auditore''' (1434 - 1500) was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[wikipedia:Condottiero|condottiero]] and the ruler of [[Monteriggioni]] since 1454. He was also a notable member of the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
Mario was most likely born in Monteriggioni, [[Tuscany]], alongside his younger brother [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni]]. Mario came from a bloodline of notable Assassins and thus also became one, starting his training at a young age.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

When he was six years old, Mario played an important role in the [[Battle of Anghiari]], where he alerted the condottiero Micheletto Attendolo to dust clouds over the road, signaling a surprise advance on the Florentines by the Milanese troops. The attack was stopped, and the Florentines won the battle. However, after this battle, most of his time was spent defending his home town of Monteriggioni and the Tuscan countryside from persistent [[Florence|Florentine]] troops determined to seize it.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

===Defense of Monteriggioni===
In 1454, Mario's younger brother Giovanni decided to move to [[Florence]] to pursue a career in banking. Mario remained at the Auditore family villa in Monteriggioni, and the two exchanged letters to keep in touch. In one of these letters, Mario defended his decision to stay in Monteriggioni by writing that he "preferred fighting like a man, to filling out balance sheets." It is insinuated that he rarely saw the family after that.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" /><ref name="Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]''</ref>

Under Mario's rule, Monteriggioni temporarily had a time of prosperity. Mario opened several shops and guilds in the city and greatly increased the city's defenses, in order to withstand Florentine attacks. He discovered a Florentine informant living in Monteriggioni, [[Luciano Pezzati]], and faced his men with some of his own. He dueled Luciano, barely defeating him, and had him dragged to the [[Villa Auditore]]. From Luciano, he found out that Florence was sending the condottiero [[Federico da Montefeltro]] to lead an attack on Monteriggioni. Due to Mario's leadership, the city was successfully defended and the attack was a failure.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy" />

Eventually, Luciano Pezatti confessed the truth behind the siege, that the Florentines attacked in search of a mysterious artifact in Monteriggioni. Mario, curious as to what this might be, gathered his architects and historians, eventually discovering that the city well was once drained and excavated. Together with a miner and some of his men, he set foot inside the well. While at first they did not find anything, Mario saw that the miner's flame was flickering while near the back wall, indicating the presence of wind. Together, they pushed against the wall and found a hidden corridor, filled with various deadly traps. Members of their group were caught up in the traps, and even Mario himself caught a swinging pendulum trap, blinding him in his left eye and causing the scar on his face.

At last, they found a wooden box within the well, from which a [[The Shroud|presence]] told Mario's men that their "pain was temporary" and to "Ignore it." Mario's men were certain the presence would heal their wounds, but Mario thought that as the box had been hidden for so long, there had to be a reason why it was there, and that opening it would be unwise. Mario's men rebelled, eager to uncover the presence, and he was forced to strike them down. Mario was curious as to what the box might contain, but he promised himself not to open it. He carried it to the Villa Auditore, while not giving in to the Shroud's attempts to heal him. He had his brother pick it up, making it "the Brotherhood's problem."<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy" />

===Training Ezio===
[[File:Ss_preview_AC2_S_051_UncleMario_Villa_jpg.jpg|thumb|300px|Mario and his mercenaries.]]
In 1476, Giovanni and two of his sons, [[Federico Auditore da Firenze|Federico]] and [[Petruccio Auditore da Firenze|Petruccio]], were executed for being accused of treason, while secretly being executed by the [[Templars]], the arch-enemies of the Assassins. In order to get to safety, Giovanni's remaining son [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]] escorted his mother [[Maria Auditore da Firenze|Maria]] and sister [[Claudia Auditore da Firenze|Claudia]] out of Florence and towards Monteriggioni.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

When the three almost reached Monteriggioni, they were ambushed by [[Vieri de' Pazzi]] and his soldiers. Mario and his mercenaries saved the trio and he insisted that they accompanied him back to Monteriggioni. Mario told Ezio of his Assassin heritage and that he had to be trained so that he could properly fight and defeat the Templars and protect his mother and sister. He then showed Ezio the inside of his villa and the [[Sanctuary]] hidden at the back of a bookcase and explained the purpose of [[the Codex]]. He soon started Ezio's training to become an Assassin and was also shown to be extremely proud of his Assassin heritage after he stormed off when Ezio announced his decision to take Maria and Claudia to Spain, against Mario's wishes.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

Feeling guilty, Ezio rethought his decision and followed Mario to [[San Gimignano]] to kill Vieri de' Pazzi. When Ezio killed Vieri and began to abuse the body, Mario stepped in and urged him to have respect for the dead. "You are not Vieri," he said to Ezio, "do not become him." Then, addressing Vieri's body, he delivered a short monologue before uttering the words "''requiescat in pace (rest in peace)''," a term that Ezio adopted for further assassinations.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

===Acquisition of the Apple of Eden===
In 1488, Mario and some of the other Assassins met with each other in [[Venice]] to acquire the "[[First Apple|Apple]]" from the [[Grand Master of the Templar Order]], [[Rodrigo Borgia]], knowing that it was to be delivered to him that day. When they arrived at Rodrigo's location, they found Ezio fighting Rodrigo and joined his side. After defeating Rodrigo's guards and almost killing Rodrigo. The latter ran for his life and left the Apple behind. The group, along with Mario, revealed themselves to be Assassins, which was unbeknownst to Ezio when he first met them.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

After securing the Piece of Eden, Mario studied it alongside [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]] and Ezio. When the Apple was activated, Mario and Machiavelli were both affected and collapsed, holding their heads. Ezio and Leonardo, however, remained unaffected. Mario recognized its great power and told Ezio to protect it by taking it to the [[Rocca di Ravaldino]] in [[Forlì]], as that citadel was protected by their ally [[Caterina Sforza]]. Mario then invited Leonardo to the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

After seeing Ezio place his fiftieth feather in the chest in [[Maria]]'s room, Mario entered and attempted to stop Ezio from continuing on what Mario considered to be a vain effort and left after informing him that he left a new weapon at the blacksmith for Ezio to use.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

In 1499, Mario, Ezio and the other Assassins who Ezio previously met gathered in the [[Villa Auditore]] to find out the prophecy in the [[Codex]]. They found out that the [[Codex]] pages showed a map of all the locations of 'Vaults' in the world. Ezio concluded that [[The Vault|the nearest vault]] was in the [[Vatican]] and that [[Rodrigo Borgia]] became pope so that he could have access to the Vault and [[the Staff|the Staff of Eden]], which was in fact the papal staff. Ezio left for [[Rome]] to assassinate Rodrigo and enter the Vault, killing several of his men along the [[Passetto di Borgo]]. Ezio eventually spared Rodrigo, but recovered the Staff of Eden from him and discovered the Vault.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

===Later life===
[[File:Mario_Auditore.JPG|thumb|300px|Mario Auditore, moments before being shot.]]
After Ezio discovered the Vault, he met with Mario and the two fought their through the [[Vatican]], and reached Tiber river where Mario encouraged Ezio to drop [[the Apple ]]in, but Ezio could not do it, so Mario decided he would take care of it until Ezio made his decision. After the escaped from Rome they returned to Monteriggioni. Shortly after they returned, Monteriggioni was besieged by the [[House of Borgia|Borgia]], under the command of [[Cesare Borgia]]. Mario quickly met Ezio, saying that he would keep the Apple safe with him and that Ezio had to stop the enemy's cannons. However, Mario became wounded and was captured by Cesare. Mario, who walked back to the city, collapsed at the city gate, followed by Cesare Borgia and his lieutenants. Cesare, holding the Apple in his hand, shot Mario in the head as he lay beneath him, killing Mario, as an 'invitation' from Cesare's family to Ezio's to go to Rome.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>

==Personality and characteristics==
Mario dressed in the flamboyant style of the Italian nobility of the Renaissance, sported long, dark hair that he slicked back neatly and had a scar over his left eye, which he was also blind in. This is an injury he sustained when he was exploring underneath the Villa Auditore, and found the Shroud. He was a boisterous man and made no apologies for his passion for fighting and alcohol. He cared deeply for his family and was extremely proud of his Assassin heritage. From his letter to Giovanni and their differences in fighting styles, it can be assumed that he was often playfully critical of his brother, much like his nephew Federico was with Ezio.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" />

The logo of the Assassins was embroidered/stitched onto the leather of Mario's left shoulder pad. The Auditore coat of arms was also stitched onto the cape he wore.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" /><ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

Upon close inspection, one notes that Mario often put his hand on the shoulder of the person he was speaking to, presumably as a sign of closeness or affection.<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" /><ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" />

==Trivia==
[[File:Mario.jpg|Mario's concept art.|thumb|200px]]
*When he first introduced himself, he exclaimed to Ezio that "''It's a-me, Mario!''". This was intended as an easter egg reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario Mario], who often says the same line, from the [[wikipedia:Super Mario Bros.|Super Mario Bros.]] game series.
*He was often referred to as ''ubriacone'' ("drunkard" in Italian) by the [[Pazzi]].
*Although Mario lived in the villa, you only get to see him during his scripted missions or when you place your 50th feather in Maria's box.
*During ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'', Mario had greying hair, indicating he has aged significantly.
*In the [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|novel of ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'']], after the defence of Monteriggioni, Mario was beheaded and his head was shown to Ezio by Cesare Borgia.

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="left">
Zw-acbh-1.jpg|Mario and Ezio overlooking Rome.
Zw-acbh-3.jpg|Ezio and Mario in Rome with the Apple of Eden.
185px-The Landlord Is Not Pleased by LadyVe.jpg|Ezio and Mario at the Siege of Monteriggioni before they depart.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{ACII}}
{{ACBH}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auditore, Mario}}

[[es:Mario Auditore]]
[[Category:Characters|Auditore, Mario]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters|Auditore, Mario]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Characters|Auditore, Mario]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy Characters|Auditore, Mario]]
[[Category:Assassins|Auditore, Mario]]