Siege of Monteriggioni

The Siege of Monteriggioni was an engagement between the Borgia, under the command of Cesare Borgia, and the Auditore which took place in 1499. Determined to rid themselves of the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore, the Templars attacked the city of Monteriggioni with an overwhelming force, whilst the city's defenders, led by both Ezio and his uncle – Mario Auditore – attempted to hold them off.

The Auditore were caught by surprise. Ezio himself was unaware of what was happening, sleeping together with Caterina Sforza, and at first believed the cannons to just be "training exercises". Though when a cannonball crashed into the room, shattering the wall and central pillar, Ezio jumped out of bed, dressed and armed himself with one Hidden Blade, however his armor was scattered by the attack and he had no time to put the rest of it on. He jumped out the window onto the first-level rooftop to observe exactly what was happening.

It was then that Ezio realized that Monteriggioni was under attack. Another bomb struck the villa just near where he was standing and Ezio fell down to the ground. There, his uncle Mario helped him up and told him the attack was led by the Borgia. Mario instructed his nephew to hold off the army until the townspeople could flee, and that he'd intended to lead a frontal assault. Wishing each other good luck and victory, they parted ways with Ezio running through the training area then jumping from it onto the back of a horse to get as fast as possible to the walls of defense. Upon the fortress walls, he used the cannons to destroy as many siege towers as he could.

Despite the destruction of many of the Templars' siege engines, the Templars managed to overwhelm the city's defenders and breach the main gates. A mortally wounded Mario Auditore was forced inside the city by Cesare Borgia who, revealing the Apple to be in his possession, proceeded to "invite" Ezio to come to Rome with a shot of his firearm; the shot killed Mario Auditore, whilst Ezio was also shot by a detachment of Templar arquebusiers upon the city walls. When Ezio eventually came to his senses, he made his way to Rome in pursuit of Cesare. However, due to the gunshot wounds he'd received during the siege, Ezio collapsed again. When he regained consciousness, he woke up in a small house, on the outskirts of Rome, where Niccolò Machiavelli nursed Ezio back to health. After a doctor stitched up Ezio's wounds he then journeyed to Rome.

Gallery

• 
  Monteriggioni under fire.
• 
  Ezio defends Monteriggioni with a cannon.
• Cesare Borgia, holding the Apple of Eden alongside his sister Lucrezia.
  Cesare Borgia, holding the Apple of Eden alongside his sister Lucrezia.
• Mario Auditore is badly wounded.
  Mario Auditore is badly wounded.
• Ezio and Mario together before they depart.
  Ezio and Mario together before they depart.

Trivia

• Altaïr's armor was seen damaged at the siege of Monteriggioni. However, Ezio later retrieved the armor from the rubble.