Editing Claudia Auditore da Firenze

{{Era|AC2|ACB|ACR|Renaissance|Bbook|Rbook|ACL|Assassins|Featured}}
{{WPAssassins}}
{{Dialogue|Ezio|My sister knows how to wield a knife.|Claudia|And I am ready to do it again.|Ezio and Claudia after a Borgia attack|Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood}}
{{Character Infobox
|name    = Claudia Auditore da Firenze
|image   = char_claudia.png
|imgdesc = 
|hideb   = 
|birth   = 2 January 1461<br>[[Florence]], {{Wiki|Republic of Florence}}
|death   = 
|period  = [[Renaissance]]
|faction = [[House of Auditore|Auditore]]<br>[[Assassins]]<br>[[Courtesans]]
|appear  = ''[[Assassin's Creed: Lineage|Lineage]]''<br>''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''<br>''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance|Renaissance]]''<br>''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood|Brotherhood]]''<br>[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|''Brotherhood'' novel]]<br>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations|Revelations]]'' {{mo}}<br>[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations (novel)|''Revelations'' novel]]<br>''[[Assassin's Creed: Embers|Embers]]'' {{mo}}
|actor   = [[Devery Jacobs]]
|voice   = [[Angela Galuppo]]}}
'''Claudia Auditore da Firenze''' (1461 - unknown) was a [[Florence|Florentine]] noblewoman during the [[Renaissance]], and a member of the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]]. She was the sister of [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]], who became the [[Mentor]] of the [[Italian Assassins]].

In 1476, Claudia became the financial accountant of the town of [[Monteriggioni]], which was under the leadership of her uncle [[Mario Auditore]]. The town flourished with Claudia's organization and the money made from Monteriggioni's shops and organizations, which had opened again.

In January 1500, Monteriggioni was besieged and largely destroyed by the [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] army, under command of [[Cesare Borgia]], and the [[House of Auditore|Auditore]] were left homeless. Against her brother's desire for Claudia and her mother [[Maria Auditore da Firenze|Maria]] to go to their hometown of Florence, Claudia and Maria followed Ezio to [[Rome]], where Claudia became the ''madame'' of the [[Rosa in Fiore]], the city's most popular [[Brothels|brothel]].

Eventually, after proving herself to be a worthy fighter to her brother, Ezio inducted Claudia into the Order of Assassins. The following year, Claudia was captured by Borgia die-hards, and subsequently saved by Ezio and [[Niccolò Machiavelli]]. She stepped down as ''madame'' of the Rosa in Fiore, and stayed in Florence with her friend [[Paola]] to recover until 1507.

Claudia was given temporary control of the Italian Assassins in 1510, when her brother left on a journey to the Middle East to find the [[Altaïr's library|library]] of the legendary [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], which was said to be in [[Masyaf]]. She held this position until her brother returned in late 1512, after which Ezio resigned from the Order and assigned a successor.

==Biography==
===Early life===
{{Quote|Ezio! Where have you been?! They wouldn't let us leave. And mother... Uch! She hasn't spoken a single word since we left the house. Father will need to sort things out...|Claudia to Ezio when he returns from the execution|Assassin's Creed II}} 
Claudia was born on the 2nd of January, 1461 in the city of Florence, as the daughter of the Florentine banker [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze]], and his wife Maria. She had two elder brothers, [[Federico Auditore da Firenze|Federico]] and Ezio, and a younger brother named [[Petruccio Auditore da Firenze|Petruccio]].<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>

As of 1476, Claudia was betrothed to [[Duccio de Luca]], a member of another noble family in Florence. Eventually, Claudia heard rumors of Duccio's adulterous actions, and her brother Ezio noticed her sadness over this. On Claudia's behalf, Ezio went to see Duccio, confirming the rumors and beating him up in a fight. After this, the relationship between Claudia and Duccio ended.<ref name="AC2"/>

A few days later, their home - the [[Palazzo Auditore]] - was attacked by [[House of Pazzi|Pazzi]] guards. The guards arrested Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio, and left Maria in shock. Claudia and the Auditore housemaid [[Annetta]] took Maria and hid themselves in the Palazzo, until Ezio arrived to find their home ransacked. Annetta took Claudia and Maria to her sister Paola's home, while Ezio went to the [[Palazzo della Signoria]] to find their father and brothers.<ref name="AC2"/>

Despite Ezio's efforts, Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio were executed on false accusations of treason by the Florentine Gonfaloniere [[Uberto Alberti]], working for [[Rodrigo Borgia]] - the [[Grand Master]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. Claudia and Maria resided safely in Paola's home, which turned out to be a brothel, while Ezio exacted revenge on Uberto Alberti - which became the stepping stone to his eventual induction into the Assassin Order, of which their father was secretly a member.<ref name="AC2"/>

===Living in Monteriggioni===
{{Quote|Since SOMEONE decided we're going to stay here, Zio Mario suggested we try and find the money to repair the villa.|Claudia, about Mario making her run Monteriggioni's finances.|Assassin's Creed II}}
[[File:CDC 2 v.png|thumb|250px|left|Claudia telling Ezio about her dislike for Monteriggioni.]]
After Ezio was successful in his objective, he took Claudia and Maria to travel to Monteriggioni with him, where their uncle Mario Auditore owned a villa.<ref name="AC2"/>

Successfully fleeing the city, they traveled through the Tuscan countryside, until they were ambushed by Ezio's rival, [[Vieri de' Pazzi]], near Monteriggioni. Ezio, trying to fend off Vieri's men, was eventually joined by their uncle Mario and his mercenaries, who rescued them and led them into the town. Showing them around the city, Ezio made clear to Claudia that they were only staying there temporarily, and Ezio planned to travel further west to [[Spain]].<ref name="AC2"/>

Ezio was eventually persuaded by his uncle Mario to finish his father's work in the Assassin Order, and he decided to stay in the [[Villa Auditore]], to Claudia's displeasure. Some time later, Mario told Claudia to keep track off Monteriggioni's finances in a record book, which infuriated Claudia, who was used to a luxurious lifestyle. Over time, Claudia got used to her new job,<ref name="AC2"/> but missed Ezio while he was journeying around Italy to take down the Templars.<ref name="Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>

During Ezio's journey, he occasionally returned to Monteriggioni with finances for rebuilding the town, and with Claudia's organization skills, the town sprung back to life again and became more populated.<ref name="AC2"/> Claudia also married Mario's captain, and in 1488 she was pregnant with his child.<ref name="Renaissance">''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]]''</ref>

[[File:Homecoming 2 v.png|thumb|250px|Claudia about to welcome her brother after his journey.]]
On 1 January 1500, Claudia's brother and uncle returned from their [[Confrontation in the Vatican|journey to Rome]] to kill Rodrigo Borgia, who had become [[Papacy|Pope]] Alexander VI. Upon reuniting with Ezio, Claudia asked him if the Spaniard, Rodrigo Borgia, was finally dead, though he declined to answer straight away.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

That day, the town was already preparing for Claudia's birthday the next day, though Claudia wished to keep the party a secret from her brother, in order to surprise him. Later the same day, Claudia joined Ezio, Maria, Mario, Niccolò Machiavelli, and [[Caterina Sforza]] in Mario's study, where Ezio told about his choice to spare Rodrigo's life and his discovery in the [[Vatican Vault|vault]] underneath the [[Vaticano District|Vatican]] - a projection of [[Minerva]], a member of the [[First Civilization]].<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

The following morning, on Claudia's birthday, Monteriggioni was [[Fall of Monteriggioni|besieged]] by the Borgia, under the command of Rodrigo's son Cesare, Captain General of the Papal army. Claudia secured her mother and several other villagers in the [[sanctuary]] underneath her villa, but was found and attacked by Borgia soldiers upon leaving the villa. She was saved by her heavily-wounded brother, who led the survivors through a secret passage underneath Monteriggioni. Upon arriving outside safewly, Ezio informed Claudia and Maria that Cesare killed Mario, and told them to go to Florence. However, they both wished to aid Ezio, and they secretly followed him to Rome, the heart of Borgia and Templar power.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

===Leading the Roman courtesans===
{{Dialogue|Ezio|You do this, Claudia, and you are on your own.|Claudia|I've been on my own for twenty years.|Ezio and Claudia, about Claudia's offer to lead the Roman courtesans.|Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood}}
[[File:Negotiations 11.png|thumb|left|250px|Claudia, Maria and Ezio inside the brothel.]]
Claudia and Maria made their way to the [[Tiber Island headquarters|Assassin headquarters]] on [[Tiber Island]] in Rome, where they met with Niccolò. Niccolò suspected Ezio to be visiting the [[courtesans]] at the Rosa in Fiore, and redirected the women to the brothel.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

Conversing with the courtesans, Claudia and Maria were joined by Ezio, who had just come back from a failed attempt to save the brothel's owner, [[Madonna Solari]], from slave traders. Without anyone to lead the courtesans, Claudia offered to take over the ownership of the brothel, much to Ezio's dissatisfaction.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

On Maria's request, Ezio agreed, and Claudia and her courtesans started retrieving intelligence for the Assassin Order from the Borgia, beginning to attain information on the location of Caterina Sforza. Meeting with Ezio and the other guild leaders at the Assassin hideout with the necessary information, the Assassins decided that their next step was to assassinate Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

Claudia continued to lead the courtesans for the coming years, and in 1503 she joined the Assassins at the hideout again, where she revealed that a senator named [[Egidio Troche]] was closely related with Cesare's "[[Juan Borgia the Elder|Banker]]". Claudia pointed Ezio in the senator's direction, and set her courtesans to follow Ezio when he went to assassinate the Banker, taking his money with them to the Rosa in Fiore.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

However, these courtesans were followed by Borgia guards, and they infiltrated the brothel. Claudia armed herself with a knife, and single-handedly took out all the guards, right before Ezio entered the brothel in hopes of saving her. Ezio was amazed by Claudia's efforts, and in August 1503, he called Claudia to the hideout again.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

Entering the ceremony hall, Ezio inducted Claudia into the Assassin Order in the presence of the other Assassins, while Ezio himself was promoted to Mentor and leader of the Italian Assassins. Claudia proceeded to perform a [[Leap of Faith]] into the [[Tiber]] from the top of the hideout.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>
[[File:Ascension_9.png|thumb|250px|Claudia initiated into the Assassin Order.]]
Ezio infiltrated the [[Castel Sant'Angelo]] soon afterwards, aiming to kill Rodrigo and Cesare. To his astonishment, Ezio witnessed Cesare kill Rodrigo with a poisoned apple, and without his father's power in the Church, Cesare saw his control over Rome weakening immensely.<ref name="Brotherhood"/> Claudia informed Ezio that a [[France|French]] cardinal, [[Georges d'Amboise]], revealed that he was to meet with Cesare soon, and Ezio left to interrupt the meeting.<ref name="Brotherhood novel">[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'' novel]]</ref> Claudia joined Ezio, Niccolò, [[La Volpe]] and [[Bartolomeo d'Alviano]] in defeating the last of Cesare's supporters, and witnessed his arrest at the hands of [[Fabio Orsini]] and the Papal Guard.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

The next year, Maria grew weak and started talking of Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio again. Some time later, Maria died due to illness. Claudia was left in sole control of the courtesans, but was captured by a group of Borgia remnants, led by a Templar spy named [[Bruno]], the same year.<ref name="Brotherhood novel"/>

Bruno pretended to work for Niccolò, and directed both him and Ezio to where Claudia was being held captive, saying it was a secret Templar hideout. Claudia, held by ropes, saw her clothes get ripped off by one of the Templars, until Ezio and Niccolò joined them. Niccolò and Ezio were able to overcome the Borgia fanatics and rescue Claudia, but she eventually chose to resign as the ''madame'' of the Rosa in Fiore. Claudia left for Florence, where she stayed with Paola to recover from the ferocious Templar attack. La Volpe arranged for [[Rosa]], a [[Venice|Venetian]] [[Thieves|thief]], to replace her as ''madame''.<ref name="Brotherhood novel"/>

===Serving the Assassins===
{{Quote|It's true. This job wears one out. The Blessed Mother knows, I've only been doing it in your stead for two short years, but I have come to realize what you have been carrying on your shoulders for so long.|Claudia about the hardship of leading the Assassins.|Assassin's Creed: Revelations (novel)}}
Ezio continued to chase after Cesare, and eventually managed to kill the Templar Grand Master during the [[Siege of Viana]] in 1507. Returning to Rome from Spain, Ezio asked Machiavelli to send Claudia back to Rome as soon as he would reach Florence. Claudia returned to Rome some time later, having grown to love the city more than her home of Florence.<ref name="Brotherhood novel"/>

Claudia continued to serve the Assassins, acting as an advisor to Ezio. In 1510, Ezio discovered a letter from their father, which detailed the location of the library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Mentor of the [[Levantine Assassins]] and one of the most legendary Assassins of the Order. Though not showing the letter to Claudia, Ezio revealed that he aimed to travel to Masyaf in hopes of finding the library. Wishing Ezio luck on his journey and asking him to write to her occasionally, Claudia was temporarily left in control of the Italian Assassin Brotherhood.<ref name="Revelations novel">[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Revelations'' novel]]</ref>

Occasionally, Claudia received [[Ezio Auditore's letters|letters]] from her brother detailing the progress of his journey, which eventually led him to [[Constantinople]]. He also revealed to her the feelings he was starting to have for a [[Venice|Venetian]] woman named [[Sofia Sartor]].<ref name="Revelations">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>

In Ezio's absence, Claudia faced the problem of Pope [[Julius II]]'s declining health, which troubled the Assassins due to Julius having been their protector for numerous years. Additionally, she received a letter from [[Desiderius Erasmus]], a [[wikipedia:Netherlands|Dutch]] scholar and the leader of the [[Northern European Assassins]].<ref name="Revelations novel"/>

In late 1512, Ezio returned to Rome with Sofia, who had become his wife after their marriage in Venice. Claudia revealed to him the good news of [[wikipedia:Pope Leo X|Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici]], son of Ezio's late friend and ally [[Lorenzo de' Medici]], being close to the Papacy, and showed him Erasmus' letter.<ref name="Revelations novel"/>

Additionally, Claudia congratulated Ezio on his marriage, approving of his wife, "even if she [was] a Venetian." Ezio, having decided to resign from the Order, revealed that he chose [[Lodovico Ariosto]] as his successor as Mentor. Claudia, pointing out Ariosto's relationship to Alfonso d'Este and his wife [[Lucrezia Borgia]], heavily protested against this, and was even more infuriated upon hearing of Ezio's desire to build his own vineyard and to start writing.<ref name="Revelations novel"/>

===Later life===
Claudia eventually married again, and stayed with her new husband in Rome. Despite being angry at Ezio at first, Claudia came to enjoy her visits to Ezio and Sofia's villa in the Tuscan countryside, and grew to love her new niece and nephew, [[Flavia Auditore|Flavia]] and [[Marcello Auditore|Marcello]].<ref name="Revelations novel"/>

Despite being 15 years older than Sofia, Claudia didn't take up a motherly role to her sister-in-law and they became very close, with Sofia occasionally taking her children to visit Claudia in Rome.<ref name="Revelations novel"/>

==Characteristics and personality==
{{Quote|He's making me work! If father was here, I'd never be stuck behind a desk like this.|Claudia to Ezio upon being given a job by Mario|Assassin's Creed II}}
In her younger years, it was evident that Claudia had been too spoiled by Giovanni, and was unafraid to be violent when a girl merely "looked at her boyfriend." Due to her temper, Giovanni was forced to raise her dowry by 1,000 [[economic system|florins]], since she scared off all of her suitors. At times, she was also seen to be immature, complaining petulantly after Mario assigned her to manage Monteriggioni's finances.<ref name="AC2"/>

Regardless, Claudia was quite capable of handling and keeping track of the town's bankroll, as well as of her brother's purchases and earnings.<ref name="AC2"/> Her capability in business management again became useful when she volunteered - despite Ezio's initial protest - to take over the brothel in Rome. Under her leadership, the Rosa in Fiore became the most popular brothel in the city, as well as an effective intelligence-gathering arm for the Assassins.<ref name="Brotherhood"/>

Claudia was also kind with her family, being especially emotional over her father and brothers' execution, her mother's emotional trauma, and leaving her home and her friends in Florence. Claudia was Ezio's only sister, and unlike her brothers, who were executed on the orders of Rodrigo Borgia to prove a point to the Assassins, she was spared, likely because of her gender.<ref name="AC2"/>

==Trivia==
'''''Assassin's Creed II'''''
*Claudia, as with most characters, appears not to age over the course of the game, and remains at the same desk in the Villa Auditore for 23 years. After she complains about being put to work, her only interaction with Ezio is asking if he is there to look at the book of finances.
*When Ezio starts earning income from Monteriggioni, Claudia states that she will keep any money past the chest's maximum capacity, with no explanation of what she intends to do with all the money.
*Although she is always sitting in the Villa Auditore through most of the game, Claudia appears in the "[[Easter Eggs#Ghosts of the Past|vision]]" Ezio has at his home during the [[Bonfire of the Vanities]].
*There is a glitch where, if you manage to bump into Claudia and knock her down, she will be given the voice of one of the guards (since knocking her down is normally not supposed to be possible).

'''''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'''''
*Claudia still appears quite young, despite her being 38 years old at the beginning of the game. Her skin appears to be paler than it was before as well.
*When Claudia is inducted into the Assassin Order, her outfit is similar to that of [[Maria Thorpe]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]'' and ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''.
*Like her brother, Claudia wields a knife with an Icepick Grip, as shown in the memory "[[Paper Trail]]."

==Gallery==
{| align="center"
|<gallery width="auto" perrow="3" style="font-size:95%; padding:0;" widths="180" captionalign="left">
Zw-claudiaauditore.png|Claudia's database picture.
Ezio_and_Claudia.JPG|Claudia speaking about her trouble with Duccio.
Zw-acb-claudia-2.jpg|Claudia during her induction ceremony.
</gallery>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{ACII}}
{{ACBH}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auditore, Claudia}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Lineage Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Renaissance Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Novel) Characters ]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Novel) Characters]]
[[Category:Assassins]]
[[Category:Courtesans]]