User:Gabriel Auditore/Sandbox3

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"A key force in the protection of Monteriggioni for hundreds of years and a source of great architectural innovation..."

―Commemorative plaque for the Villa Auditore, 2012.

The Villa Auditore was a familial home and stronghold of the Auditore family, located within the city of Monteriggioni in Tuscany.

Purchased by the family some time after 1321, it remained the home to the Auditore up until the turn of the 16th century, when it was heavily damaged during the Fall of Monteriggioni.

History

Domenico Auditore

The villa was constructed in 1290. In 1320, a Florentine attack left the facade damaged, and in need of reconstruction. After the death of Dante Alighieri in 1321, Domenico Auditore purchased the Villa, and subsequently erected a new facade, as well as a painting gallery within. He redesigned the Villa not only as a home, but as a fortress and training ground for the town.

The building itself was filled with hidden compartments and rooms, whilst the grounds catered to a number of different uses. Later, Domenico constructed the Auditore Family Crypt, which would later also be connected to an escape route within the Villa that led out to the north of Monteriggioni.

Mario Auditore

The run-down Villa Auditore.

By 1436, the Villa hosted the newest generation of Auditore Assassins; the brothers Mario and Giovanni Auditore. Following the death of their father, and Giovanni's departure for Florence, Mario became the sole ruler of Monteriggioni, and resident of the Villa in 1454.

Despite Mario's love for the Villa, it fell into disrepair along with the city it protected, due to him spending his money on warfare and mercenaries, rather than its upkeep. Instead, the Villa was mostly used for storing weapons and equipment of war, and at one point, even a mysterious artifact Mario had discovered hidden under Monteriggioni.

During the Defense of Monteriggioni in 1454, the Villa was also where Mario and his mercenaries interrogated Luciano Pezzati, a spy for the invading Florentine army.

Ezio Auditore

In 1476, Mario's nephew, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as well as his mother and sister, came seeking refuge in Monteriggioni after the execution of his father and brothers. After resting in the Villa, Ezio intended to take his mother and sister to Spain, much to Mario's protests.

Eventually, Ezio decided to remain in Monteriggioni, and seek revenge on those responsible for the execution. He became, in effect, co-ruler of Monteriggioni with Mario, and the renovations he funded and oversaw proved to herald a rebirth for not only the Villa, but the city of Monteriggioni as well.

Although the exact length of time it took for the Villa to be rebuilt is unknown, by late December 1499, it was once again an opulent structure, as well as the headquarters of the Assassin Order in Italy.

File:Villaburn.PNG

Villa Auditore burning during the Fall of Monteriggioni.

However, on the 2nd of January, 1500, the Papal forces led by Cesare Borgia besieged Monteriggioni, thus devastating the town and its Villa, and killing Mario. After this, the Villa was abandoned, as Ezio left the ruins of Monteriggioni to wage war against the Borgia in Rome.

Sometime before 1554, the Auditore resumed control over Monteriggioni, though the Villa was not rebuilt. In 1554, the Auditore were betrayed by Giovannino Zeti, keeper of the garrison and a Florentine exile, who gave the keys of the city to the Medici.

The Medici conquered Monteriggioni, though they allowed the Auditore to continue ruling the city due to their families' good relationship.

Modern times

Desmond: "Wait. We're at the Auditore Villa?"

Lucy: "Yes. It's our last safehouse in Italy."

—The Assassins arriving at the Villa.

The modern Villa Auditore.

By 2012, the Villa had become a World Preservation Site, and was heralded as "one of the Tuscan countryside's most beloved landmarks." A plaque displayed before the Villa contained details of its construction, as well as how it had been destroyed in Pope Alexander VI's military campaign in 1500.

On September 9, 2012, Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman, Rebecca Crane, and Shaun Hastings set up a temporary base of operations within the Sanctuary beneath the Villa to escape the Templars searching for them. Throughout their stay, which lasted until October 10, the Assassins lived within the Villa, and came out only to collect provisions.

Rooms

The Villa Auditore had several rooms, some of which were hidden.

Main hall

File:Zw-mainhall.png

The main hall.

The main hall of the villa served as the entrance, and led to several other rooms, as well as the courtyard which contained the statuettes Ezio had recovered from the city. It was well-furnished, even in its state of disrepair, and was spacious and featured an elegant design. A large marble staircase occupied the center, leading to the second floor, while a chandelier hung from above. Several paintings purchased by Ezio decorated the walls of the main hall.

Armory

Main article: Armory

The armor room.

In the armor room, Ezio was able to change his equipped weapons or armor within two separate armory rooms. The armor room contained the five sets of armor available to Ezio, including the Leather, Helmschmied, Metal and Missaglias armors. The Armor of Altaïr, once unlocked from the Sanctuary, was situated at the back of the armory. The center of the armory contained a model of the Flying Machine used during the assassination of Carlo Grimaldi in Venice, along with the model of the carriage that Ezio drove in the Appennine Mountains between Florence and Forlì with Leonardo da Vinci.

The weapons room.

The weapons room contained Ezio's weapons spread throughout several weapons racks. The left rack held the Schiavona, the common, Captain's and Milanese swords while the right rack had the Sword of Altaïr, the Old Syrian sword, the Scimitar, and the Venetian and Florentine falchions. The other side had a rack which contained the Mercenario and the Condottiero Warhammers, the Maul, and the Flanged and Cavalieri Maces. The center of the room had a double sided rack that contained the small weapons, comprised of the Dagger, Knife, Stiletto, Channeled and Notched Cinquedas, and the Sultan's and Butcher's knives.

Workshop

Ezio speaking with Claudia in the workshop.

The workshop was a room which contained several shelves lined with books, and a scale replica of Monteriggioni. Claudia Auditore occupied this room during Ezio's hunt for Rodrigo Borgia, keeping track of the city's finances and maintaining records of the Villa's refurbishment. Monteriggioni's resident architect was also present here, through whom Ezio made decisions regarding upgrades to the villa. This was also the place where Leonardo da Vinci set up his workshop after being invited to stay at the villa by Mario Auditore.

Mario's study

Mario's study.

Mario Auditore's study was a room where Mario and Ezio would discuss the operations of the Assassin Order, including details of various missions Ezio would undertake. Before Ezio joined in the efforts of the Assassins though, the study had been the room in which his father, Giovanni, and Mario discussed plans for the order and missions.

The Codex Wall was located in the study, and the pages kept within it were added by Ezio once they were found throughout his journeys across Italy, after they had been decoded by his friend Leonardo da Vinci. A few of the pages that had been on the wall were ones decoded by Giovanni. Standing before the Codex Wall was a pedestal meant for holding the Apple of Eden, placed in a way that the lights would mark locations on the map beneath the pages. Beyond that was Mario's desk, where he did writing work and presumably kept track of the Brotherhood.

As well as this, there was a large bookcase in the room, which concealed a mechanism that hid the stairs to a place known as the Sanctuary. Finally, above the study was a balcony, which would connect to a corridor that led to the entrances of the workshop, and Maria and Ezio's rooms.

Following the attack by Cesare Borgia, the room had been destroyed in part, but still held Claudia's record book, which was found centuries later by Desmond Miles.

Maria's room

Maria's room.

Maria Auditore's room was the bedroom of Maria Auditore da Firenze, located on the second floor of the villa. Like the rest of the villa, it was well furnished, and included a box for feathers that Ezio collected for her, in memory of Petruccio.

Maria spent around 20 years praying in this room, constantly in mourning for the loss of her youngest son. However, when Ezio had finally collected one hundred feathers, persisting even after his uncle Mario had written off Maria's grief as a hopeless cause, she finally spoke, thanking her son for not giving up on her.

Ezio's room

File:Room1.jpg

Ezio's room in the Villa Auditore.

Ezio Auditore's room was located at the top floor of the Villa Auditore. It served as a bedroom, study, and base of operations during his twenty-three year crusade to avenge his fallen father and two brothers, who were executed by members of the Templar Order.

Paintings of Ezio's assassination targets would be hung in his room after he had killed them; with the exception of Dante Moro's (for whom there was no portrait) and Rodrigo Borgia's (which appeared even though Ezio spared his life).

The room was supported by a wooden beam running up from the middle of the floor to the ceiling, and was taken up mostly by a desk littered with letters and documents. Ezio's room was slightly altered just before the Siege of Monteriggioni, with the addition of a large bed and a bath tub, with a set of stairs leading up to it instead of a ladder. These were possibly added after Ezio had upgraded the Villa.

File:Acber1.png

Ezio's room shortly before the attack.

In 1500, Ezio was sleeping here with Caterina Sforza when the city was attacked in the Siege of Monteriggioni. A cannonball crashed through the wall of his room and damaged the wooden support beam in the center of the structure, causing the ceiling to collapse onto half of the room. The collapsed ceiling fell onto the Armor of Altaïr, and Ezio had to leave it behind to go defend the Villa.

Painting gallery

Main article: Painting gallery

File:Zw-gallery.png

The painting gallery in the Villa Auditore.

At some point during 1454, Mario created a painting gallery in the Villa, taking advantage of his brother's connections in Florence to import fine art.

From 1476 to 1499, his nephew Ezio gathered pieces of Renaissance artwork from art merchants in several different cities during his travels, which were displayed in the villa's painting gallery. However, the paintings were either destroyed or stolen by the Borgia following the siege of Monteriggioni in 1500.

Sanctuary

Main article: Sanctuary

The Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary was a stone chamber located in Monteriggioni, and was used by Assassins in both the Renaissance and modern times. It was a well-built chamber found underneath the Villa Auditore, and could be accessed primarily through an entrance hidden behind a bookshelf in the Villa study.

Statues of seven legendary Assassins lined the walls. Six of these statues had corresponding seals at their base, which had to be collected and returned, in order to unlock the gate in front of the seventh statue of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. This seventh statue also held the Armor of Altaïr until it was recovered by Ezio Auditore.

Gallery

• An alternate view of Ezio's room.
  An alternate view of Ezio's room.
• 
  An alternate view of Ezio's room before the siege of Monteriggioni.
• 
  Mario's study in the modern times.
• 
  The World Preservation Site board in front of the villa in modern times.

References

[Category:Monteriggioni]] [Category:Landmarks]] [Category:Tuscany]] [Category:Assassin Order]]