Liberation of Rome

"The liberation of Roma has begun."

―Ezio Auditore to a new Assassin recruit, 1503.

The liberation of Rome took place during the Italian Renaissance, in which the city of Rome was freed from Borgia rule by the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins under Ezio Auditore.

Beginning of the insurrection

Rome in ruins

"As the Borgia grow in power, they have taken desirable areas of the city for themselves."

―Machiavelli to Ezio on the Borgia's oppression.

In 1500, following the Siege of Monteriggioni and its subsequent fall, the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore began his journey to Rome, enraged and seeking revenge for the attack on his home and the murder of his uncle, Mario Auditore. However, he passed out half way there due to the injuries he had sustained during Cesare Borgia's attack, and was thus brought to Rome by Niccolò Machiavelli who found him unconscious in the countryside.

Waking up, Ezio discovered a young woman, who had helped to heal his injuries, though not fully. After telling him to meet Machiavelli at the Mausoleo di Augusto and providing him with new Assassin garb, Ezio left to meet with Machiavelli. On his way, Ezio discovered Rome in ruins, with the majority of the citizens living in fear; the people were poor and starving, the guards were corrupt and ruthless, and the city was decaying under the oppression of the Borgia.

Meeting with Machiavelli, he told Ezio of the Borgia's rule as the pair walked together. Reaching some stables, Machiavelli claimed they could not use it, as the Borgia had taken certain areas of the city for themselves. However, Ezio, tired of seeing the city under despair and misery, burned down the nearby Borgia tower that represented their power in that district. With this, the stables were able to reopen and some of the Borgia's presence was diminished. Machiavelli subsequently showed Ezio the only Assassin stronghold in Rome beneath Tiber Island.

Ezio, conversing with Machiavelli and Fabio Orsini

Arriving there, Ezio and Machiavelli were greeted by Fabio Orsini, an ally wishing to overthrow the Borgia mainly to destroy Cesare's influence. Powerless against the Borgia, Ezio asked Machiavelli of their contacts in the city, though he admitted all of the Roman underground were unable to help the Order because of their own problems. Ezio then set off to reestablish contact with the Roman mercenaries, courtesans, and thieves.

Revival of the Roman underground

Niccolò: "What are you going to do?"

Ezio: "Make some friends."

—Ezio telling Machiavelli about his plan to rebuild the Assassins' network.

First, Ezio was able to locate La Volpe Addormentata, the Thieves Guild's secret headquarters. Finding La Volpe there, Ezio assisted the man with some of his problems, before helping La Volpe repair the run-down thieves' headquarters and have it disguised as an inn, so that the Borgia would not become suspicious. While grateful for the Assassin's help, La Volpe later told Ezio that he suspected Machiavelli of being a traitor to the Order.

Shortly after, Ezio visited Bartolomeo d'Alviano, whose wife Pantasilea Baglioni told the Assassin of Bartolomeo's troubles with the combined forces of the Borgia and Baron Octavian de Valois' detachment of French forces. To help solve this, Ezio killed the nearby Borgia tower's captain during a clash and destroyed the building, then repaired the military barracks for the Mercenaries Guild.

Finally attempting to ally himself with the Courtesans' Guild, Ezio discovered that the Rosa in Fiore's madame Madonna Solari had been kidnapped by Cento Occhi slavers. The Assassin attempted to bargain with the slave traders in order to save the Madame, procuring 2,500 florins for her release, but the bandits double-crossed him and killed Solari. After dealing with his attackers, Ezio returned to the brothel and found his sister Claudia and mother Maria. In response to the news of Solari's death, Claudia volunteered to take the position of the new madame to prevent the brothel's closure and help Ezio and his quest to liberate Rome. Ezio begrudgingly accepted her offer and used the ransom funds to renovate the Rosa in Fiore, but cut off any personal formalities with his sister.

Ezio speaking with the guild leaders

Having secured all three guilds' support for the Assassin Order, Ezio decided to commence their insurrection against the Borgia. He began by organizing a meeting with Machiavelli, La Volpe, Bartolomeo, and Claudia at the Tiber Island headquarters, where they discussed how to sabotage the Borgia's influence and ultimately defeat their enemies. Ezio then assigned each guild leader to learn the whereabouts of Cesare and Rodrigo Borgia, Caterina Sforza, and the Apple of Eden stolen by the Templars from Monteriggioni.

Eradication

Over the next three years, Ezio destroyed the remaining Borgia towers, all of which were propagating the Borgia's influence across Rome. As he did, he also restored various shops and purchased famous Roman landmarks, successfully giving the people the will and initiative to think for themselves, and to fight for their own rights. With the Borgia's reach weakened day by day, military presence in the districts diminished and crime rates dropped. As a local resident, the Master Assassin Lucas Bellini staunchly committed himself to the Brotherhood's cause of revitalizing the city.

To further bring down the Borgia, Ezio and the Assassins hunted down and eliminated each of Cesare's hired agents, resulting in the Templars losing crucial power in the city. Additionally, the Followers of Romulus, who were commanded by Cesare and their Papal overlords, were also brought down by Ezio; to stop these false pagans from terrorizing the people of Rome, he infiltrated their lairs and killed their leaders.

Removal of Cesare's resources

The Banker

"Agostino Chigi is the Pope's money-lender, but Cesare does business with someone else."

―La Volpe informing Ezio of Cesare's personal banker.

The Banker's party

Shortly after rescuing a captive Caterina Sforza from the Castel Sant'Angelo, Ezio realized that in order to completely remove the Borgia's influence, he would need to cut off Cesare's funds. La Volpe determined that Cesare's funds came from one known as "the Banker." Claudia confirmed this and spoke of Senator Egidio Troche, who owed the Banker money.

Ezio set out to find the senator, and eventually came across him being harassed by the Banker's debt collectors at Il Campidoglio. In response, Ezio killed the collectors and led Egidio to safety. After offering to provide the money Egidio owed, Ezio followed him to the place where the money was to be collected, proving to be the Pantheon.

Once there, Ezio assassinated Luigi Torcelli, the guard assigned to verify Egidio's payment, and impersonated him by wearing his armor. The Assassin then delivered the money to the Banker's henchmen, who were ready to bring it to the Banker himself. Slipping away and changing back into his robes, Ezio followed the carrier into a party that the Banker was holding and sat on a nearby bench. When the Banker walked by, proving to be Juan Borgia the Elder, Ezio assassinated him. With the first of Cesare's three generals gone, Cesare was deprived of his funds.

Skirmish with the Baron

Main article: Skirmish in the Campagna district

"Whatever the French may think, Cesare intends to be king."

―Bartolomeo discussing the Baron and Cesare.

The Baron and his troops

Ezio soon found out that Cesare had persuaded the French king Louis XII to lend him an entire army to aid in his conquests. This army, which was under the command of Octavian de Valois, was at the time engaged in close conflict with the Assassin and condottiero Bartolomeo d'Alviano. Ezio, with Bartolomeo's aid, planned to assassinate the French general and leave them in disarray. However, during the battle, the Baron kidnapped Bartolomeo's wife Pantasilea and demanded Bartolomeo's unconditional surrender.

Seemingly left with no other alternative, Bartolomeo began to prepare for surrender. However, Ezio stopped him and offered a plan which would allow them to safely rescue Pantasilea: Ezio and his mercenaries would commit perfidy by way of a false flag operation, disguising themselves as French soldiers and pretending to escort a "surrendering" Bartolomeo, thus entering the French camp without arousing suspicion.

The plan was successful, and once inside, Ezio signaled for the mercenaries to begin the attack. However, the Baron retreated deeper into the camp with Pantasilea as a hostage. Ezio was nevertheless able to approach undetected and assassinate the Baron. With the second of Cesare's three generals gone, his military troops were in disarray.

The Templar assassin

"Micheletto. The best killer in Roma. No one escapes him."

―La Volpe describing Micheletto.

Cesare's power was sufficiently weakened with his troops and funds in shambles, thus Ezio felt that it was time to move in for the kill. However, in order to enter the heavily guarded Castel Sant'Angelo, he would need to be able to slip in undetected. For this, La Volpe suggested retrieving the key that had been given to Pietro Rossi, Lucrezia Borgia's current lover.

Ezio at the Passion play

In doing so, Ezio uncovered a plot to assassinate the actor, as Cesare had found out about Pietro's relationship with his sister and sent his "butcher", Micheletto Corella, to kill Pietro during his performance of the Passion Play held at the Colosseum. Ezio realized that if Pietro was assassinated, he would never be able to reach Cesare, so he set forth to save the actor's life. After disguising himself and his recruits as actors, Ezio managed to make his way onto the stage and neutralize Micheletto.

However, the Templar revealed that he had already poisoned the wine that Pietro had drunk during the play, forcing Ezio to take Pietro to a doctor, who managed to save his life. Subsequently, Ezio demanded the key from Pietro, to which the actor eventually obliged. While he made to leave, however, Ezio saw Paganino, one of the thieves who had been at the Villa Auditore during Cesare's attack. The man fled when confronted, and Ezio gave chase. Upon catching Paganino, Ezio discovered that he was the one who had been spying on the Assassins for the Borgia, but his discovery was cut short when the thief killed himself upon the Assassin's Hidden Blade, after proclaiming "Long live the Borgia!".

With the new information, Ezio hurriedly raced back to Tiber Island to prevent La Volpe from killing Machiavelli, whom he had long suspected to be the traitor. Once Ezio successfully proved Machiavelli's innocence and stopped La Volpe's attack, a meeting of the Assassins was called. Claudia was initiated into the Order after Ezio had seen her abilities manifest themselves in defending the Rosa in Fiore from a Borgia attack, and Ezio was declared the Mentor of the Italian Assassins. With Micheletto neutralized, Ezio had been given a way to enter the Castel Sant'Angelo, locate the Apple of Eden, and assassinate Cesare; this final act would truly liberate Rome.

The freedom of Rome

"Join me and I will take back Roma!"

―Cesare making a desperate bid for support.

Cesare arguing with his father

Ezio once again infiltrated the Castel with the help of the key to the side door he had obtained from Pietro. Once inside, he made his way towards the Papal apartments, and eventually arrived at a window that led into the Pope's chambers. There, he witnessed a conversation between Cesare and his father Rodrigo, in which Cesare furiously demanded to know where his funds and troops had gone. Rodrigo informed him that it had been the Assassins' doing, but refused to offer Cesare any monetary aid or compensation.

Cesare stated that if Rodrigo would not give him money, he would use the Apple of Eden to get what he wanted. Rodrigo then told him that he had hidden the Apple, prompting Cesare to demand its location. Their conversation was interrupted by Lucrezia, who ran into the room claiming that Rodrigo planned to poison Cesare with the apple that Cesare had just taken a bite of.

Infuriated, Cesare spat out what he had been eating and viciously rammed the remaining apple down his father's throat. Distraught, Lucrezia pleaded for him to stop by telling him that she knew where the Apple of Eden was, though Cesare immediately pinned her to the wall by the throat and demanded that she tell him. Meanwhile, Ezio made his way to the open window, but by the time he got in, Cesare had departed in search of his objective. Lucrezia then gave the location to Ezio as well, and he raced to get to the courtyard in front of the Basilica di San Pietro before Cesare.

Fortunately, Ezio arrived first and, locating the Apple with his Eagle Vision, reclaimed it for the Assassins. Upon his narrow escape from the Vaticano District, Ezio began to use the Apple to kill the remnants of Cesare's army, leaving him with next to nothing. In December 1503, Cesare met with his few remaining Templar loyalists at the gates to Rome, in order to await his army that he had recalled from the battlefield to aid him.

The Assassins facing Cesare's troops

Instead, Cesare was ambushed by the Assassins, and his guards were killed. Cesare managed to safely seal himself outside the city walls, where he awaited the arrival of his troops while taunting the Assassins. The army that arrived for him, however, was not his own but that of Fabio Orsini, who carried an arrest warrant from Pope Julius II. Cesare was promptly taken prisoner, much to his fury, and Rome was finally liberated from the influence of the Borgia and the Templars.

Aftermath

Assassins and Templars

"This is not your city anymore!"

―Ezio to Cesare after driving him out of Rome.

Following Cesare's fall from power, Ezio was worried that he remained a threat despite his arrest. Leonardo da Vinci encouraged Ezio to use the Apple and see what would eventually become of Cesare. Despite his initial protests, Ezio decided that he could not risk Cesare's return, and used the Apple to see what the future held. He immediately discovered Cesare's plan to escape, and set about foiling the attempt. This would eventually lead the Mentor to Spain, seeking to prevent Cesare from emerging triumphant at the Siege of Viana.

With all of their important members dead or driven out of Rome, the Templars lost control of the city. After a new Assassin-affiliated Pope was elected, Julius II, the Templars lost all hope of ever seizing control of Rome for the near future.

Cesare Borgia

"No! This is not how it ends! Chains will not hold me! I will not die by the hands of man!"

―Cesare protesting his arrest, 1503.

Cesare Borgia's arrest

In 1504, Cesare was exiled to Spain and imprisoned at the Castillo de la Mota. However, he was in luck, as the Count of the city provided him with a rope to aid him in an escape attempt. Cesare dropped seventy feet from the prison wall, fracturing several bones, but was saved after he landed on the servant that accompanied him.

Leaving the injured servant behind, Cesare escaped the area dressed in a merchant's garb, and joined his brother-in-law, King John III of Navarre. In 1507, King John ordered Cesare to lead his force of 10,000 men to Viana to reclaim Viana Castle from the Count of Lerin. Cesare planned to win the battle to regain the support of the French, and eventually take back Rome. However, he was ultimately killed during the siege of Viana, thanks to Ezio's intervention.

Rome

After Rodrigo's death and Cesare's fall from power, Rome went through a massive change. All the shops had re-opened, the factions were re-established, and the citizens underwent a change from bandits and beggars, to artists and merchants. The Papal Guard were no longer corrupt, and the prosperity and light of the Renaissance had finally been brought into Rome.

Even decades after the Borgia had been eradicated, the people of Rome did not forget about the oppression they had suffered under their rule. In time, rumors began to circulate about the true reason behind the family's downfall, with some attributing the liberation of Rome from the Borgia's grasp to the interference of a secret organization. When the Portuguese priest Luís Fróis visited the city prior to joining the Jesuit mission to Japan, he overheard these rumors and was able to uncover the Borgia's Templar affiliations. However, he never learned about the existence of the Assassins.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (indirect mention only)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Embers (indirect mention only)
• Assassin's Creed: Identity (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (indirect mention only) (mentioned in Database entry only)
  • Naples, 1499 CE (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows (indirect mention only)