Dante Moro

"I feel eyes on us."

―Dante Moro to Marco Barbarigo in Venice.

Dante Moro (1460–1486) was a member of the Templar Order and the personal bodyguard of Marco Barbarigo. He was previously the captain of the Venetian city guard and an heir to one of the most prestigious families in Venice.

Biography

Betrayal

"Do you even remember me?"

―Carlotta, in her letter to Dante.

Desiring Dante's wife Carlotta for himself, the Templar Marco Barbarigo organized an attempt on Dante's life. Sending his agents en masse to beset Dante, they managed to stab him four times, despite him being a capable fighter, with three stab wounds to the body and once in the head with a knife. Although it had been embedded in his skull, Dante did, however, prove to be more than Marco's agents could handle, escaping the encounter with his life.

Dante, losing Carlotta to Marco.

Whilst he had miraculously survived, Dante was left with severe brain damage and the mind of a child. From there, Marco tricked Dante into annulling his marriage - in Carlotta's presence - and achieving the goal he hoped for. He also convinced Dante into becoming his personal bodyguard, later mentioning to the Spaniard that despite Dante's impediments, he proved capable in his new employment.

As a Templar bodyguard

"We should keep moving."

―Dante advising the Templars for their safety

Dante guarding the Barbarigos and the Spaniard.

On September 14th 1485, Dante, along with Marco, met with fellow Templars Silvio Barbarigo, Carlo Grimaldi, and Rodrigo Borgia in the Piazza di San Marco, to discuss the plans to murder the Doge. Dante spoke little during the meeting, focusing instead on his caution and keeping the other Templars safe. More than once, Dante moved the group along to avoid prying eyes and ears, though it proved little to deter Ezio Auditore from observing from the surrounding rooftops and crowds.

Dante later met with Silvio at Carnevale, where he fought Ezio hand to hand to win a golden mask. Though he put up a good fight, Ezio's skills proved better and he was bested, although Silvio cheated for him by bribing the Master of Celebrations; with the mask being awarded to Dante to prevent Ezio from entering Marco's private party.

While Dante was leaving another dance, Ezio managed to distract Dante long enough to pickpocket the mask from him. On discovering the loss of the mask, Dante arrived at the party along with other guards, and attempted to look for Ezio. Despite his best effort, he failed, resulting in Marco's death at Ezio's hand. After Marco's death, Silvio hired Dante to be his bodyguard, and Dante subsequently helped his new master to occupy L'Arsenale.

Death

Dante and Silvo assassinated by Ezio

Ezio planned to kill Dante and Silvio and helped a condottiero, Bartolomeo d'Alviano, attack L'Arsenale. During the attack, Dante fought against Bartolomeo and Ezio, leading the Templar troops. With Ezio and the condottieri arrayed against him, he and the Templar supporters were defeated. Silvio recalled Dante though, who rushed to join him at the docks. As they were to board a ship, however, Ezio assassinated the two with both of his hidden blades before they could reach the ship. In his final moments, Dante disclosed to Ezio that they were meant to sail for Cyprus, right before succumbing to his injuries.

Final words

• Ezio: What's happened here? Why the boats? I thought you sought the Doge's seat.
• Silvio: Just a distraction. We were meant to sail...
• Ezio: Sail where?
• Silvio: I'll never tell.

Silvio dies.

• Dante: Cyprus is their destination. They want... they... want...

Dante dies.

• Ezio: Non temete l'oscurità – accettate il suo abbraccio. Requiescant in Pace. (Fear not the darkness – but welcome it's embrace. Rest in peace.)

Letter from Carlotta

After Dante's death, Ezio recovered a letter from Dante's ex-wife. It read:

My love,

I wonder if ever the day will come when these words might make sense to you once more. I am sorry for what I've done - for what you and I have both become. Though we could not be together, just knowing you were near was enough. And now, with Marco dead, I may yet find a way for us to be joined again.

But do you even remember me? Or were the wounds too grave? Do my words stir- if not your memory, then your heart? It doesn't matter what they say- I know you're still in there, somewhere.

I will find a way, my love. To remind you. To restore you...

Love always,

Carlotta

Appearance

Dante with the Golden Mask

Dante appeared well dressed, but his mannerism and appearance belied his condition. Dante always wore a fine waistcoat and soldier's boots under a gold-trimmed black trench-coat. He also always wore heavy gauntlets and often a white kerchief. Dante's skin had a slight pallor to it, and when he walked he would gesture as though talking himself, hinting at the damage within.

Personality

"He's saved my life on two occasions, though he's not much of a conversationalist."

―Marco, commenting on Dante.

Dante didn't have much of a personality after the tramatic attempt on his life. When he spoke, it was in short, gruff sentences focused on a single task: the advancement of his master's goals. He was well suited to combat, but his social skills were undervalued as Marco noted.

Trivia

• Dante wields a Labrys axe, and fights much like a Brute.
• Despite Antonio telling you not to do so, the player will not be desynchronized from the memory if they kill Dante after stealing the mask from him, but he will still appear at the party later.
• If the player is confronted by Dante after stealing the mask, the player cannot kill him, nor disarm him (unless you use a two-handed weapon's Special attack), even if his health bar is all the way down. This is also the case after the party where Marco is killed, him being located on a bridge nearby. The only way to defeat him is to make him fall in the water. Even if the player does so, in the next memories he will be alive.
• In the novel, Ezio shoots Dante in the face with the pistol on the deck of the Templar ship. The text of Carlotta's letter to Dante is reproduced in it, as well.
• Dante differs from the other assassination targets in the game, as he is not deliberately a Templar. Simple-minded, Dante would not be in control of his actions and therefore can not be held accountable for them. Assassinating him would therefore be breaking the first tenet of The Creed, but Ezio is not bound by the tenets until he is inducted into the order.
• Dante is the only assassination target not to have a portrait in Ezio's room, probably because his brain damage makes him unaware of his actions and not really a Templar. As well, he was only a consequential casualty of Silvio's assassination.
• Dante is also the only assassination target to be younger than Ezio in Assassin's Creed II.
• An easy way to kill Dante while on the boat is to walk onto the thin gangplank, and when he follows you, either drop into the water, or attack him until he falls in, killing him.
• The database entry for San Giobbe states that Dante was the only son of the Doge, Cristoforo Moro, who supposedly disowned him in 1468 after losing his title as Venetian Captain of the Guard. This would not be possible, as Dante would only have been eight years old in 1468. Also, when Dante was born, Cristoforo would have been nearly 70 years old.

Gallery

• Dante at the Templar meeting in 1485.
  Dante at the Templar meeting in 1485.
• Dante at the Venetian carnevale.
  Dante at the Venetian carnevale.
• Ezio fighting Dante.
  Ezio fighting Dante.
• Rendered model of Dante.
  Rendered model of Dante.
• File:Dante animus.jpg
• 
  Multi-view render of Dante Moro.
• Dante Moro's bust.
  Dante Moro's bust.

Videos

thumb|left|300px|Database entry video.

References

• Assassin's Creed II
• Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia
• Assassin's Creed II: Collector's Edition Official Game Guide

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