House of Auditore

"We are the Auditore da Firenze. We are Assassins."

―Giovanni Auditore da Firenze.

The House of Auditore was a noble family of the Italian city of Florence. Its prominence in history was relatively short, lasting approximately one to two hundred years.

History

Foundation

"To the Auditore that reads this, remember that you are not a nobleman. You are not one of the deceivers, you are one of the people. Avenge us!"

―Domenico Auditore's final message in the Auditore family crypt.

During the late 13th century, the family that would become known as the Auditore lived in the outskirts of Venice. Either around or after 1296, Domenico was inducted into the Assassin Order, under the tutelage of Dante Alighieri.

Following Dante's death, Domenico was tasked by his own father, also an Assassin, with the duty of hiding Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex in Spain. Domenico’s vessel was ambushed at sea by pirates, under the employ of the Templars, who ransacked the ship and slaughtered the crew, including Domenico’s wife,Isabetta. With only Domenico and his son remaining, he used the bank account details given by Marco Polo, who had recently been murdered by the Templars, to impersonate a nobleman in Florence. There, he took vocal lessons, studied architecture and the classics, and adopted the name "Auditore", after a local minor noble. The family continued to pose as a noble house to conceal their true Assassin identities.

Under Domenico’s guidance, the family constructed the Villa Auditore in the nearby town of Monteriggioni, while Domenico trained his son in how to fight as an Assassin. Together, the Auditore hunted the Templars, and looked to reclaim the Codex pages. Before his death, Domenico detailed his story on a series of engraved stone plates, and had them placed in the Auditore Family Crypt, beneath Monteriggioni.

In 1355, Renato hid, beneath the Villa, the original Shroud of Eden took from the Templars Geoffroy de Charny.

Auditore brothers

A century later, the two grandsons of Renato, Mario and Giovanni decided to take different paths. Mario stayed in Monteriggioni to protect the city and leading a group of mercenaries and the Assassins, Giovanni moved to Florence to became a banker and investigate on Templar conspiracies. The two stayed in contact as they searching the Codex' pages.

In 1454, Mario discovered in Monteriggioni a Florentine spy Luciano Pezzati. When he arrested him, he revealed that the condottiero Federico da Montefeltro would asiege the city for the Florentine to reclaim an artefact beneath the city. Mario prepared the defenses of the city and broke the florentine army. After the battle, Mario decided to recover the mysterious object. With a group of mercenaries, Mario explored the city's catacombs and faced mortal traps which killed some of his men and he even lost his left eye. Afterwards, Mario discovered the Shroud hid by his grandfather a century before. A voice from the artifact convinces the mercenaries they could be heal by the Shroud but Mario refused to use it. His men turned against him and he was forced to kill them. Mario asked to his brother to give the artifact to another group of Assassins to protect the city.

In Florence, Giovanni entered in relation with Maria de' Mozzi and in 1452 they were married. They had four children, Federico, Ezio, Claudia and Petruccio. Maria learned about Giovanni's allegiance and she helped him to keep his secret from his own children.She also became an Assassin. In 1456, Giovanni represented in court Paola, a woman who was charged for the murder of a city guard. Giovanni plead the self defense and won the case. In fact Paola was also the daughter of a couple Assassins who died in sea. Giovanni inducted her in the brotherhood and hired her sister Annetta as a servant. Paola became the Madam of the Rosa Colta which gave informations for the Assassins in the city. Years later, he  inducted his elder son, Federico, but decided to delay the induction of Ezio, who was more a troublemaker and a womanizer during his youth.

Auditore execution

After saved from drowning a young Lorenzo de' Medici, Giovanni becoming a close ally of the Medici dynasty, the rulers of Florence. In December 1476, Giovanni uncoverd a Templar plot to weakened the Medici power by Assassinating Lorenzo's ally, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the duke of Milan. Giovanni tried to foil this plan but he failed. He continued his investigation in Venice where he followed a messenger send by the Templar Marco Barbarigo but before he could learn anything, the courrier commited suicide with Giovanni's blade. Giovanni recovered the letter and asked to his friend Uberto Alberti and his associate Antonio Maffei to decipher it. But the two were in fact Templar allies and decided to say they couldn't decipher the letterand obliged Giovanni to deliver the letter himself in Rome. There Giovanni met the Grand Master of Templar Order Rodrigo Borgia who proposed him to join his side. Giovanni refused and fight Rodrigo's men but was wounded by a knife threw by the Grand master and also broke his hidden blade. Giovanni returned in Florence knowing he must be on his guard and began to make a list of the Templar conspirators.

Giovanni had proof that the Templar Francesco de' Pazzi had commited a murder. He decided to charge him knowing his implication in the plot against the Medici. To stop the trial, Uberto, under the command of the Templar, charged Giovanni and his family for treason against the Republic. Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio were arrested and send to the Palazzo della Signoria. Maria was so traumatized by the arrestation of his younger son she became mute. Ezio decided to send his mother and sister in a safe location. Annetta took them to the Rosa Colta and Ezio climb the Palazzo della Signoria to speak with his father. There Giovanni informed his son to collected what he left in his secret bureau and to deliver any proof of his innocence to Uberto. Ezio returned to his home and recovered his father's assassin robe, his sword, his broken hidden blade, a codex' page and the list of Templar conspirators. Ezio gaave it to Uberto who pretended to help the young man. The Gonfaloniere proposed to shelter Ezio, but he refused and prefered see him for the liberation of his kind. The next day, Ezio went to the Piazza della Signoria and saw the truth: Uberto didn't liberate his family but comdemned them, omitting the proof of their innocence he had. Giovanni and his sons were hanged and Ezio tried to kill Uberto but the massive presence of guards obliged him to run.

Ezio's vendetta

Following the deaths of Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio at the hand of the Templar conspiracy, the remaining members of the Auditore da Firenze fled the city. After the execution Claudia, Maria and Ezio sought refuge in Monteriggioni, under the protection of Mario Auditore and his army of mercenaries at his disposal to fight against the Templars in the region.

As Giovanni's only remaining son, Ezio took on his work and sought vengeance against those responsible for the death of his father and brothers, joining the Italian Assassins. He contributed in restoring the villa, and the financing the rebuilding of large parts of Monteriggioni.

Later history

It is unknown how many individuals bore the name of Auditore after the births of Ezio’s two children – Marcello and Flavia Auditore – at the turn of the 16th century, as most of the information about the Auditore family was erased from history by the Templar conspiracy, and the name itself, lost over the centuries. The Auditore lineage extended to at least two known descendants of Ezio Auditore in the 21st century; Desmond Miles and Clay Kaczmarek.

Members

• Domenico Auditore
• Isabetta Auditore
• Renato Auditore
• Mario Auditore
• Giovanni Auditore da Firenze
• Maria Auditore da Firenze
• Federico Auditore da Firenze
• Ezio Auditore da Firenze
• Claudia Auditore da Firenze
• Petruccio Auditore da Firenze
• Marcello Auditore
• Flavia Auditore
• Sofia Sartor

Family tree

Domenico Auditore

Isabetta Auditore

Renato Auditore

One generation

Giovanni Auditore

Maria de' Mozzi

Mario Auditore

Federico Auditore

Sofia Sartor

Ezio Auditore

Unknown woman

Claudia Auditore

Petruccio Auditore

Flavia Auditore

Marcello Auditore

Unknown generations

Unknown generations

Desmond Miles

Clay Kaczmarek

Trivia

• "Auditore" is an Italian word meaning "auditor". An auditor is a person who maintains financial accounts of a business, which was likely a reference to the family's work in banking.
• The Auditore identified themselves as Roman Catholic, but certain members of the family were also atheist. Mario stated that he was "never much of a believer" during his mention of the villa chapel to Ezio, while Maria could be seen praying in her room.
  • Additionally, in the novelization, Maria and Claudia spent their time in a convent instead of Monteriggioni, with Claudia almost becoming a nun.
• As soon as Ezio was born, his father told him that he was an Auditore and he was a fighter, hinting at the family's Assassin background.
• If the Palazzo Auditore was visited during the Bonfire of the Vanities downloadable content, Ezio could see his family as a loving memory.

Gallery

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  An Auditore crest featuring the Assassin insignia