Florence

Florence (Italian: Firenze) is a major city located in northern Italy. The city was home to the notable Auditore family during the late 15th century, as well as four districts: Santa Maria Novella, San Giovanni, San Marco, and Oltrarno.

During the 15th century, the city was ruled by the venerable Lorenzo de' Medici, a member of the powerful Medici dynasty. However, the city later evolved into a dark age with the Bonfire of the Vanities, under the leadership of the mad monk, Girolamo Savonarola.

History

Early development

Florence was founded during the Roman era, in the year 59 BCE, although it would be some 1,400 years before it developed into one of Italy's most important cities. During the Renaissance, the Medici family ran the city and placed a focus on the arts and sciences, as well as being the birthplace of the modern banking system. The city was also home to some of Italy's most notable figures, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, Niccolò Machiavelli, and the eminent Auditore family.

At some point after the year 1291, the Assassin Domenico Auditore and his son came to live in Florence, and adopted the name of Auditore. Under the guise of the Auditore, they quickly assimilated themselves into the city's nobility.

The city flourished during the reign of Lorenzo de' Medici, and during this reign, great artists, philosophers, and others contributed to the city's development. Various architectural marvels blessed the streets of Florence, such as Santa Maria Novella, Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo, and the Ponte Vecchio. Despite its beauty, however, Florence did have enemies, like most other cities in the region.

Medici alliances

Main article: Giovanni's travels

Uberto, Giovanni, and Lorenzo meeting in Florence.

One of the Medici's foremost defenses was the Assassin Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, who worked on behalf of Lorenzo de' Medici up until 1476. After the assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Lorenzo dispatched Giovanni to investigate. While surveying the crime scene, Giovanni discovered a Venetian coin in the possession of Giovanni Andrea Lampugnani, and immediately left for Venice.

After obtaining a courier's letter in Venice, Giovanni returned to Florence where he shared the letter with Lorenzo de' Medici, Gonfalonierie Uberto Alberti, and a monk, Antonio Maffei. The monk translated the letter for Uberto, but the gonfalonieri kept the translation to himself, and forced another monk to recreate the letter, claiming they were unable to decipher it. After duplicating the letter, Uberto gave it to Giovanni, who delivered it as the Templars had originally planned.

After following the letter and confronting the Templar ringleaders in Rome, Giovanni returned to Florence, injured from his travels. However, Giovanni's rest was interrupted when Father Maffei arrived at his home with a few guards, demanding Giovanni come with them. Giovanni sent his eldest son, Federico, to stall Antonio, and successfully escaped.

Auditore execution

Main article: Auditore execution

The presence of the Assassin in Florence soon proved problematic for the Templars, who sought control of the city. In response, the Templars organized the execution of Giovanni and his sons Federico and Petruccio, for the crime of treason. The Templars also attempted to have Ezio Auditore da Firenze, another one of Giovanni's sons, arrested, but Ezio managed to evade the guards.

Uberto speaking at the Auditore execution.

After the execution of his family, Ezio began to work with Paola, who also knew the pain of betrayal. Paola helped the Assassin get his hidden blade repaired, and taught him how to blend within a crowd. Once he had finished training with Paola, Ezio tailed the traitorous Gonfaloniere and former family friend, Uberto Alberti. Ezio witnessed Uberto arguing with Lorenzo de' Medici as the former made his way to an unveiling of Verrochio's latest work at the Santa Croce cloister. Ezio infiltrated the small gathering, and, utilizing his new skills, assassinated the traitor, and proclaimed that his family still existed to a group of attending nobles.

After this dilemma, Templar Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia and the Pazzi family began to make plans to usurp control of the city, and to bring down the strong Medici family that had ruled Florence for so long.

Pazzi Conspiracy

Rodrigo: "Gentlemen. Tomorrow, a new sun rises over Firenze. May the Father of Understanding guide us"

All: "May the Father of Understanding guide us"

—The Templar conspirators bidding each other farewell after their meeting.

Main article: Pazzi Conspiracy

Once he returned to Florence after assassinating Vieri de' Pazzi in San Gimignano, Ezio met with his old friend, Leonardo da Vinci. Ezio told Leonardo of how he needed to see someone while in the city, but Leonardo quickly hushed him and subtly directed him to the Mercato Vecchio, where he could find the fox.

The Templar conspirators meeting under Santa Maria Novella.

On April 26 1478, the Templars plot came to fruition, as they prepared to attack Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano de' Medici, on their way to Sunday mass. However, Ezio learned of the conspiracy, and made his way to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, where the attacks were to take place.

Once there, Ezio blended with the crowd, and observed Lorenzo and his brother walk towards the church and wave gleefully at the spectators. However, before Ezio could act, Bernardo Baroncelli ran at Giuliano and stabbed him in the chest, knocking him over. After getting up, Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo both attacked Giuliano, and killed him after slashing and stabbing him furiously. Lorenzo was saved only by the timely arrival of the only citizen remaining in attendance, Ezio Auditore.

Ezio brought Lorenzo back to his home, the Palazzo Medici, where he received medical attention from his loyal servant, Angelo Ambrogini. Once there, Lorenzo asked why Ezio had helped him, and Ezio explained that he too had lost family members to the Pazzi, and identified himself as Ezio Auditore to the Florentine ruler. Lorenzo immediately explained to Ezio how he knew Ezio's father, and that Giovanni had understood loyalty and honor. Then, out of nowhere, a guard rushed in and informed the group that Francesco de' Pazzi was leading a battalion behind the Palazzo della Signoria, and that their supporters would be killed if they lost the building. Lorenzo then told Ezio that he needed to help save their city, and Ezio departed for the Palazzo.

Francesco atop the Palazzo della Signoria.

The Assassin navigated the city, and eventually made his way to the rooftops across from the Palazzo della Signoria. Francesco, who was on top of one of the ramparts, called out to Ezio, and demanded his guards slay him. However, Ezio climbed up one of the Palazzo's sides, and then scaled some scaffolding in order to reach the top level that Francesco was standing on. The Assassin moved in for the kill, and Francesco pleaded for his guards, before jumping off one of the building's sides, only to land safely in a haystack.

Once Ezio saw his target leap from the building, he immediately followed suit and began to pursue him. He chased Francesco across the Florentine rooftops, and eventually assassinated him. Afterwords, fellow Templar conspirator and head of the Pazzi family, Jacopo de' Pazzi, went to the Palazzo in an attempt to calm down the clamorous citizens. However, Jacopo witnessed a group of citizens tie a noose around Francesco's neck, and upon seeing his nephew's dangling body, fled the city.

Bonfire of the Vanities

Main article: Bonfire of the Vanities

Savonarola picking up the Apple in Forlì.

After Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, the city gradually began to decline under the new leadership of Lorenzo's son, Piero de' Medici. Piero was not a man of the people like his father, and was not popular with Florence's citizens. Two years into Piero's rule, in 1494, the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola took control of the city and exiled Piero after picking the Apple of Eden from Ezio Auditore's wounded body in Forlì.

Savonarola's rule of Florence attracted the attention of the Assassins, primarily Ezio Auditore and Niccolò Machiavelli, who met in the Oltrarno District in 1497. During this meeting, Machiavelli and Ezio discussed how to topple Savonarola's rule, and formulated a plan in which they would assassinate each of Savonarola's nine corrupted lieutenants. After this meeting ender, Ezio left to assassinate the first of Savonarola's nine lieutenants, the Painter.

The Painter

Ezio made his way to a small bonfire which the Painter was hosting. Once arriving there, Ezio heard the Painter speak about how artistic tools were actually those of the Devil's. The Painter also spoke about how he was deceived by the Devil in his speech, and how each citizen needed to dedicate themselves to Savonarola, the prophet.

The Painter making a speech near the small bonfire.

After his speech, Ezio observed the Painter closely, and assassinated him. In his final words, the Painter told Ezio how he was sorry, and that even though he had been controlled by the Apple, he still blamed himself for his actions. After killing the first lieutenant, Ezio departed from the bonfire, as did the spectators who had been observing the ordeal.

Database entry

Founded by Julius Caesar in 59 B.C.E., Florentia, as it was called by the Romans, quickly became a center of commerce.

After the sacking of Rome, in the 5th Century, the Ostrogoths took over. Under their rule, the city was constantly under attack from the Byzantines, who sent the population level below 1,000. The Lombards came to power in the 6th Century, ending the Byzantine assaults.

Florence grew to a population of 80,000 in the 14th Century, of which 25,000 were working in the wool industry. In 1378, a major revolt of the lower class led to the wool combers rising up and seizing the government of the city. Their progressive, radical democracy lasted for less than 2 months before the upper classes seized control once more, but the revolt so terrified the rich, that a century later it was still discussed in hushed tones, much as the 1960s hippy movement is today.

The Albizzi family became the de facto rulers after the revolt. Worried about the rise of the Medici family, who were newly rich bankers rapidly gaining influence in Florence, Maso and Rinaldo Albizzi imprisoned Cosimo de' Medici and exiled him in 1433. But Cosimo gained influence behind the scenes, and rose to power in 1434, exiling the entire Albizzi family except for Luca, who had been loyal to Cosimo. Luca Albizzi joined the Signoria, the ruling body of Florence, as Gonfaloniere, succeeding Cosimo's old friend Ilario Auditore in 1442.

Under the Medici family, which built impressive public buildings and supported such luminaries as Michelangelo, Leonardo and Botticelli, the Renaissance began with Florence securely at its center.

Landmarks

• Santa Maria Novella District
  • Mercato Vecchio
  • Santa Maria Novella
  • Basilica di San Lorenzo
• San Marco District
  • Santa Maria Novella
  • Bottega di Leonardo a Firenze
  • Palazzo Medici
  • Ospedale degli Innocenti
  • Basilica di Santa Croce
• San Giovanni District
  • Palazzo della Signoria
  • Santa Trinita
  • Palazzo Auditore
• Oltrarno District
  • Palazzo Pitti

Assassination targets

• Uberto Alberti; the Gonfaloniere of Florence (DNA Sequence 2)
• Francesco de' Pazzi; Patriarch of the powerful Pazzi family (DNA Sequence 4)
• Girolamo Savonarola; The mad monk in control of Florence during the Bonfire of the Vanities (DNA Sequence 13)

Trivia

• The Battistero di San Giovanni is missing from the front of the main entrance to the Santa Maria del Fiore, despite being built several hundred years before the events of the game.
• Florence appears in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood as a multiplayer location, and is a location that Ezio can send his Apprentices to for contracts.
• Florence also appears in four of the Cristina Memories, the suppressed memories of Ezio's past.
• During the Bonfire of the Vanities sequence, the sky over Florence becomes covered by dark clouds in contrast to how it used to be bright and vibrant during the Medici's rule.
• Florence is featured as a city in the Mediterranean Defense mini-game in Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Gallery

• A map of Florence.
  A map of Florence.
• 
  Ezio surveying the area from atop a view point.
• 
  Ezio killing a guard along a Florentine rooftop.
• The city at night.
  The city at night.
• Florence, as seen from a bird's eye view.
  Florence, as seen from a bird's eye view.
• Ezio fleeing from guards in a typical Florentine street.
  Ezio fleeing from guards in a typical Florentine street.
• Florence, as it appears in the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer.
  Florence, as it appears in the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer.
• A map of Florence in the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer.
  A map of Florence in the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer.
• 
  A panoramic view of the city streets.
• An older Ezio in Florence with fellow Assassin Shao Jun.
  An older Ezio in Florence with fellow Assassin Shao Jun.