Leonardo da Vinci

"Ezio, my friend! How may I be of service?"

―Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer in the Renaissance. He is generally considered the most talented person who ever lived. Born as an adopted person to a middle-class poor family, he spent 5 years in the countryside before he moved to the small village of Vinci, Florence. Very little is known so far about his early life. By the age of 14, he took up painting and was rather successful in getting his paintings published throughout the world today. In 1472, he enrolled at Guild of St Luke, where he recieved a master degree in Medicine and Botany. After university, his father set up his workshop, where Leonardo would work. Many political figures and armies would often call for his help to design various items and buidlings. His most famous painting is the Mona Lisa, which was taken with him when he retired to France in 1513. He died of Blood Gout in 1519. He was convicted of Sodomy in 1476.

Assassin's Creed II

Concept art of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is the best friend of Ezio. He will be his personal engineer, making various gadgets, items, and weapons for Ezio. He constructs weapons such as Hidden Gun, and the dual Hidden Blades from the Codex pages written by Altaïr as well as the Flying Machine, ...etc. He will also decode the codex pages, granting the player an extra synchronization bar slot for every four pages decoded.

Leonardo was a student in Verrocchio’s workshop until 1476 in Florence. In reality, there is little historical information on Leonardo's real life between 1476 and 1481, giving the game developers the chance to supplement it as follows: the Auditore family patronized Leonardo to open his own workshop. Ezio met him in his workshop and became a very close friend. His workshop was originally in Florence but later relocated to Venice. Finally at some point prior to 1499, Leonardo moved into the Auditore Family Villa, presumably so he could be protected from those who would seek to hurt Ezio through him, or to better assist his friend's struggle against the Templar.

Throughout the events of the 23 years depicted in Ezio's memories he remains Ezio's ally and friend; even when the death of the Doge is blamed on Ezio.

His flying machine proves to be successful; with its first test flight performed by Ezio is a failure as it works only as a glider, however the addition of rising heat provided by fires set up according to Leonardo's instructions allowed the machine to make a short flight.   

List of Hidden Blade upgrades:

• Hidden Blade (1)
• Hidden Blade (2)
• Poison Blade
• Hidden Gun

Gallery

• Ezio having a chat with Leonardo
  Ezio having a chat with Leonardo
• Leonardo in his workshop
  Leonardo in his workshop

Trivia

thumb|left|250px|Leonardo Da Vinci - Genius Inventor

• All of Leonardo's modifications on previously existing assassin gear are designs created by Altaïr. Leonardo just follows the designs detailed in Altaïr's codex, which only he and Giovanni Auditore can decipher and translate.
• Leonardo, like some of the main characters, doesn't seem to experience any changes for the 23 years of the game he appears, from their first encounter to the decoding of the the Codex in the villa in 1499. (1476-1499).
• Unless it is a codex page important to the story, such as the design for two hidden blades, the cutscene is the same when Ezio visits Leonardo each time (even after Leonardo's move to Venice).
• leonardo's voice is almost identical to rafiks vioce in AC1 when altiar travels to damascus