Domenico Auditore

Domenico Auditore was the great-great-grandfather of Ezio Auditore da Firenze; a descendant of the Assassin Altaïr, and forefather to Desmond Miles. He lived around the late 13^th and 14^th Centuries, and was the founder of the Auditore Family Villa in the town of Monteriggioni.

Following his death, Domenico Auditore was buried within the family crypt he had built in the city.

Biography

Domenico was raised in Venice, Italy; subsequently becoming an apprentice sailor for an Adriatic based vessel when he was "barely old enough to walk," before carrying cargo for his father's patron – Marco Polo. One day, while looking for work in the harbor, he fell in love with a young woman, with whom he would maintain a relationship with whilst he continued to work as a sailor. Eventually, the two married, and a son was born.

One summer's afternoon, his patron called upon him; Domenico arrived to see both his father and an older man dressed in a "strange hooded cape" also there. Domenico's father revealed that he was an Assassin, and as such Domenico himself was destined to follow in his footsteps. The man in the hood – Dante Alighieri – would become his master. Dante would teach Domenico the ways of the Assassins, and in return, Domenico would give him passage to Spain.

Preparing for the journey, Domenico met with Dante many times, purchasing supplies and talking about important things such as life, love, honor and justice. He taught him that society was set up by its rulers to control the people, to stop them from thinking and seeing the truth. Dante then showed him the Codex written by Domenico's ancestor Altaïr, which Marco Polo had acquired whilst visiting the court of Kublai Khan.

Upon returning to Ravenna to pick up his belongings, Dante died. Domenico went to announce the news to his father and patron, but before he could say a word, the two revealed that Dante had been murdered by the Knights Templar. The Templars had been watching Dante and sought the Codex, which Dante was due to take to Spain. Domenico's father ordered him to leave immediately for Spain, telling him to take the Codex and his family with him. Marco Polo handed Domenico a small sheet of paper, bearing Polo's own bank account number upon it, so that he might draw upon it when necessary.

He set sail that night, with a ship filled with cargo to be sold in Barcelona. However, to avoid a coming storm, they were forced to take shelter in the harbour of Otranto. Here, pirates under the employ of the Templars snuck aboard the vessel. Domenico did not see them until it was already too late. He hid with his family in the hold, broke the Codex into pages, and placed them into various boxes and containers.

Finding Domenico and his family, the pirates demanded the codex. Domenico could tell that they were drunk, and told them that he had thrown it overboard. Two of them held him down, whilst the rest raped his wife, before throwing her overboard. They eventually threw both Domenico and his son overboard as well, before stealing the vessel's cargo and sinking the ship. Domenico and his son reached the shore, and the next day happened upon the corpse of his wife, which had washed up on shore.

Travelling by land, the two made their way to Florence. Using Polo's account, which he had memorised, Domenico rented a small room for his son, before travelling to Venice to meet with his father and patron. Journeying in disguise, Domenico quickly discovered that they had already been killed, and he returned to Florence the next day. With the account of Marco Polo in his possession, Domenico took to studying the classics, taking vocal lessons and collecting treatises on architecture. Impersonating a noble at the Florentine court, he took the name Auditore, and was accepted as a part of the city's nobility.

In the year 1290, Domenico constructed what would become the Auditore Villa in Monteriggioni. He trained his son to become an Assassin; killer of the Knights Templar, just as he was.

In 1296, before his death, Domenico constructed the Auditore Family Crypt within the city, leaving his memoirs engraved on stone plaques throughout its walls.

Trivia

• While the in-game database claims that Domenico is Ezio's great-grandfather, Ezio's uncle Mario and the architect that helps the player rebuild Monteriggioni say that Domenico was Ezio's great-great-grandfather. It has been noted that the writer of the database, Shaun Hastings, used an incomplete family tree from the British archives as his source, which led to his mistake.
• The actual commune of Monteriggioni was built in 1213 and was mentioned by Dante Alighieri in his "Inferno," despite Domenico saying Dante had died before he left Venice and built Monteriggioni. However, Domenico only built the villa and not the characteristic city walls mentioned in The Divine Comedy, which would allow for the reference in the Assassin's Creed Universe.