Antonio Maffei

Father Antonio Maffei (1450-1479) was one of the monks under the employ of Lorenzo de' Medici, under the supervision of Uberto Alberti. As such, he was in league with Alberti's treachery towards Lorenzo, and was one of the key proponents of the Pazzi Conspiracy against the ruling family of Florence.

He is portrayed by Shawn Baichoo.

Biography

Assassin's Creed: Lineage

File:Alberti-hands-encryptedletter-to-Maffei.jpg

Uberto Alberti hands over the letter to Maffei.

Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, another ally of the Medici family, intercepted a letter from the suspected conspirators of the murder of the Duke of Milan in Venice, which was waxed with the Barbarigo family seal. As Giovanni showed the letter to Lorenzo and Alberti, the latter quickly realized that the contents are encrypted with a strange code, and that translating it would take several hours. Alberti then handed the letter to Father Maffei to work on.

Later that night Father Maffei handed the complete translation of the letter to Alberti, who praised him for the good work and told him to fetch Giovanni for his next mission. But before leaving the palazzo, Alberti warned the priest of dangerous secrets, and made him take a vow of silence, of not to tell anyone of the true contents of the letter. After fetching Giovanni from his residence and returning to the Medici palazzo, he worked on a duplicate letter, as Alberti claimed they were "unable" to decode it, and handed the completed forged document for Giovanni to deliver to Rome.

After Giovanni's failure to capture Rodrigo Borgia, he returned to his Florentine home as his wife tended to his near-fatal wound. Father Maffei then appeared in front of the Auditore residence, with armed guards, demanding entry and custody of the Assassin. However, Giovanni evaded capture as his eldest son bought him enough time to slip into a hidden passageway.

Assassin's Creed II

Maffei blamed the Medici for the Sacking of Volterra, his birthplace, by Florentine mercenaries. He met in a secret chamber under the Santa Maria Novella with Rodrigo Borgia and the other conspirators of the Medici brother's assassination. Father Maffei showed up the next day during the assassination attempt against Lorenzo at the Duomo, attempting to stab him and he slashed his neck. Maffei fled with the other conspirators to Tuscany from the Assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who was coming after them. He evidently went insane as he stood atop the tallest tower in San Gimignano, spouting sermons and occasionally arrows. Ezio assassinated him as Antonio spoke a sermon, though Antonio was the only one not to tell Ezio about the conspirators' meeting with Rodrigo Borgia, unlike the others.

Final Words

Antonio: Away with you, demon!

Ezio: Have some respect for death, my friend.

Antonio: I'll show you respect! -

Ezio: (interrupt) No, I will. Che tu possa alfine trovare riposo nel corpo e nella mente. (May your body and mind at last be still.) Requiescat in Pace. (Rest in peace.)

Trivia

• In real life, Antonio Maffei was a monk who tried to kill Lorenzo. He sliced him below his right ear. He found refuge with Benedictine monks in the Badia Fiorentina across from the Palazzo Pazzi. He was arrested on May 3. His nose and ears were sliced off and he was later hung from the Palazzo della Signoria tower.