Pantasilea Baglioni

Pantasilea: "You are my prince."

Bartolomeo: "Now I better earn that title."

—Pantasilea to Bartolomeo after her rescue from Octavian de Valois, 1503.

Pantasilea Baglioni (1476 – 1537) was the wife of the Assassin Bartolomeo d'Alviano.

She was introduced to Ezio Auditore when he visited Bartolomeo, in order to re-establish the relationship between their guilds, and would later go on to helping Ezio manage his assassination contracts in Rome.

Biography

Early life

Pantasilea came from a long line of fierce fighters, the Baglioni family. The rulers of Perugia, they were engaged in a long and bloody conflict with the Oddi family, to the point that skirmishes in the city squares occurred almost daily. Growing up in such a rough environment ensured Pantasilea's transformation into a bold, yet tactful strategist.

Battle against the Borgia

"Let me get straight to the point. The fight is not going well. We have been attacked on both sides. Borgia on one, French on the other. But know this; the Borgia position is weak."

―Pantasilea to Ezio, 1500.

By 1500, Pantasilea was helping her husband manage his mercenaries in their barracks, the Caserma di Alviano, in Rome. While her husband could more commonly be found betting on the matches in the Fight Club downstairs, Pantasilea spent most of her time in the main room of the barracks, dealing with its accounts and its daily operation.

She proved her adept understanding of warfare during her first meeting with Ezio that year, wherein, despite her husband's confident assurances that his battle against the French was going well, Pantasilea quietly informed Ezio of the true situation.

She confided in him that their forces were spread thin due to the simultaneous attacks on two fronts, from the French and the Borgia, and advised the Assassin to burn down the nearby Borgia tower to relieve some of the pressure on their mercenaries. The move was a success, allowing Bartolomeo's men to focus all their attention on the invading French forces.

Shortly afterwards, Pantasilea commented to Ezio that strategy was equally important in battle to strength, and directed him to check the messages held by carrier pigeons, as Niccolò Machiavelli often sent the names of key Templar figures through them. She continued, saying that eliminating those listed would "have more of an impact than a battle ever could".

Battle against the French

"Mio marito vi ammazzerà tutti! (My husband is going to murder all of you!)"

―A captured Pantasilea to Octavian de Valois, 1503.

Pantasilea held captive by the French

In 1503, Pantasilea was kidnapped by the Baron de Valois, in order to force the surrender of Bartolomeo. However, Ezio and Bartolomeo, along with twenty mercenaries, infiltrated the Baron's fortress by masquerading as French troops that had captured a surrendering Bartolomeo.

Though they successfully entered the camp, they were forced to break their cover when the Baron threatened to shoot Pantasilea, despite Bartolomeo's surrender.

As the battle ensued, the Baron escaped to a courtyard, and held a pistol to Pantasilea's head, threatening to shoot her at the first sign of trouble. However, Ezio managed to assassinate the Baron from above before he pulled the trigger. When Ezio slyly commented that the plan to rescue Pantasilea was of Bartolomeo's construction, despite really being his own, Pantasilea hugged Bartolomeo and said that he was her prince.

Pantasilea passed away in 1537, aged around 60 years.

Personality and traits

"Whenever that girl encounters resistance, like the waters of the Tevere, she changes course until she has that for which she came."

―Venetian Doge Agostino Barbarigo in a letter to Bartolomeo, 1498.

Pantasilea speaking with Ezio

Pantasilea was a very strategic woman, often insisting that a well coordinated plan was as good as – if not better than – brute force.

Despite her and her husband having completely different views on battle, their personalities complemented each other. After she was kidnapped, Bartolomeo seemed at a loss of how to reach her, grieving that "Pantasilea would know what to do".

A very understanding woman, Pantasilea often humored her husband when he chose to put on a brave front and claimed that everything was under control when it was not.

Pantasilea was also very brave and showed no fear when she was kidnapped by the French forces, defiantly asserting that her husband would kill them all for daring to kidnap her. 

Trivia

• Bartolomeo had four children by Pantasilea: Lucrezia, Isabella, Porzia, and Livio Settimo.
• Pantasilea is an Italian variant of the Greek name Πενθεσίλεια (Penthesileia), most famous bearer of which was the Queen of the Amazons that fought and died in the Trojan War.
• When Bartolomeo called and looked for Pantasilea to first introduce her to Ezio, Ezio joked he should try looking for her behind the table. This was a reference to his and Bartolomeo's first meeting in Assassin's Creed II, when Bartolomeo called and searched for his sword, Bianca, and found it behind a table.
  • Additionally, when Ezio was introduced to Pantasilea, he kissed her hand and said that he was charmed to meet her. He also said this previously, albeit in a much more sarcastic manner, upon being introduced to Bianca.
• Throughout Brotherhood, Pantasilea's eye color appeared to alternate between blue and brown.
• In the novelization, Pantasilea was described as having blond hair and deep brown eyes, with well-shaped face and limbs.

Gallery

• 
  Bartolomeo introducing Pantasilea to Ezio
• 
  Pantasilea held hostage by Octavian de Valois
• 
  Ezio rescuing Pantasilea
• 
  Pantasilea reunited with Bartolomeo

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
• Assassin's Creed: Ascendance