Sanctuary

The Sanctuary.

"This is the sanctuary. It was built by my great-grandfather to honor the memory of the Assassin Order and protect its secrets."

―Mario Auditore describing the Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary was a location used by Assassins in both the Renaissance and Modern Times.

History

It was created by Domenico Auditore, and served as a tribute to the greatest Assassins in history, who safe-guarded humanity when it was most threatened. Found underneath the Villa Auditore, its entrance is concealed behind a tall bookcase in Mario Auditore's study. It was revealed by Mario to his nephew, Ezio Auditore, as he became devoted to the Assassin's Creed.

The Seals

It was characterized notably by seven statues of seven legendary Assassins. Six of these statues had missing seals that were to be collected in order to unlock the gate in front of the seventh statue of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. This seventh statue also held the set of armor fashioned by Altaïr.

File:Escapevilla.jpg

The sanctuary's secret exit.

Statues

From left to right:

• Qulan Gal
• Darius
• Wei Yu
• Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
• Amunet
• Iltani
• Leonius

Siege of Monteriggioni

During the Siege of Monteriggioni, a passageway behind the statue of Altaïr served as an escape route for Ezio, his family, and some surviving townspeople. The hidden door led them into the tunnels under Monteriggioni, which were also connected to the Auditore Family Crypt.

Modern Times

Centuries later in modern times, Desmond Miles and Lucy Stillman traversed that same path to unlock the bookcase entrance, in order for Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings to gain access to the Sanctuary. The modern Assassins then used the Sanctuary as refuge, since their first hideout had been found and assaulted by Abstergo. However, as the Sanctuary had no electricity, Desmond first free ran around modern Monteriggioni to reroute electricity into the Sanctuary, also finding many artifacts from the time of his ancestors lived there.

Trivia

• The circular grate in the courtyard at the back of the Auditore Family Villa is actually the top of the Sanctuary, which allows light in.
• In Brotherhood, though the grate at the top of the Sanctuary appears broken from the inside, when viewed from the outside, it seems undamaged.
• In Assassin's Creed II, you can examine all the statues except Altaïr's, and gain information about the Assassin. In Brotherhood, only the statue of Altaïr may be interacted with, resulting in a short cutscene that involves Desmond using a stereotypical Italian accent, resulting in Rebecca scolding him for his racism.
• The secret exit used during the siege of Monteriggioni is present in Assassin's Creed II, however, it is blocked by a pile of logs.
• Although all of the Assassin statues (other than Altaïr's) have the small skull mechanisms that open the entrances of Assassin's Tombs, they cannot be interacted with.
  • In Brotherhood, these skull mechanisms have been removed from the statues during the Siege of Monteriggioni, but reappear in modern Monteriggioni.

Gallery

• 
  Ezio looks at his ancestor's statue and armour
• Desmond arguing with Shaun in the Sanctuary.
  Desmond arguing with Shaun in the Sanctuary.
• 
  Shaun Hastings in the Sanctuary.
• 
  Modern-day Assassins in the Sanctuary.
• 
  The modern-day Assassins making use of the Animus.
• 
  The six Seals.
• Qulan Qal's statue.
  Qulan Qal's statue.
• 
  Darius' statue.
• 
  Wei Yu's statue.
• 
  Amunet's statue.
• 
  Iltani's statue.
• 
  Leonius' statue.

Sources

• Assassin's Creed II
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood