Palazzo della Signoria

The Palazzo della Signoria (also known as the Palazzo Vecchio) was a building in central Florence, and the center of governmental power during the Italian Renaissance.

Atop the building stood a noticeably off-center clocktower, which also served as a holding cell. The square in front of the building served as a marketplace and a site for executions.

History

In 1476 the execution of Giovanni Auditore and two of his sons, Federico and Petruccio, was held at the Palazzo della Signoria. The three had been imprisoned in the tower the night before. Although Ezio Auditore da Firenze tried to attack Uberto Alberti, the man who had betrayed his family and ordered their execution, he was disarmed by a brute and forced to flee. 

Later, during the Pazzi Conspiracy, Ezio pursued and assassinated Francesco de' Pazzi on the roof of the Palazzo, before allowing those loyal to the ruling Medici family to hang him from the battlements. Jacopo de' Pazzi had attempted to rally the Florentine citizens in the square below, but fled the city after seeing Francesco's body. 

The Palazzo was the execution site of the infamous priest, Girolamo Savonarola, by an angry mob of Florentines in 1498. However, Ezio intervened and killed the monk with his hidden blade, sparing him from the agony of being burned at the stake. 

Later, in 1524, Ezio took the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun to see the Palazzo during a trip into the city. By then, the gallows had been removed and the square was now a place of lively celebration and dancing. 

Trivia

• There was a view point on top of the Palazzo's clocktower.
• Historically, many of the people involved in the Pazzi Conspiracy were hanged from the Palazzo. In-game, only Francesco was shown to be hanged.
• Ezio was unable to climb up to the pinnacle of the tower.
• This was the last place Ezio had a conversation with his father before Giovanni was executed.

Reference

• Assassin's Creed II