Marco Barbarigo
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Marco Barbarigo (1413 - 1486) was a member of the Knights Templar and became the Doge of Venice in 1486. He was the cousin of Silvio Barbarigo, brother to Agostino Barbarigo, and in some way related to Emilio Barbarigo. Belonging to a rich and powerful noble family, Marco was a tyrant used to getting his own way.
Biography
Early life
Marco Barbarigo was born in 1413 to the noble Barbarigo family of Venice. From an early age, Marco acted like a tyrant towards the people below him, demanding absolute servitude in return for continued employment. This wish for power grew with age and was the reason for his eventual membership within the Templar Order. [2]
Once old enough to understand his place in the world, Marco Barbarigo immediately demanded for riches. His family doted upon him as the elder of two sons, and everything that he wanted- ships, gold, jewelry- was ordered for him. The Barbarigo family was very influential and one of the wealthiest of the Venitian Nobility. This greed was demonstrated by his later thievery of Carlotta Moro, another man's wife. [2]
Betraying Dante
- Emilio: "This guard's a good find cousin, how much do you pay him?"
- Marco: "Perhaps not as much as he deserves; he saved my life on two occasions."
- —Marco and Emilio discussing Dante[src]
Once a friend of his bodyguard and attendant, Dante Moro, Marco became attracted to Dante's wife Carlotta, and orchestrated an attempt on his former friend's life in order to win her for himself. Dante was stabbed three times in his torso and once in the cranium by men sent by Marco to kill him. [2]
Dante escaped his killers and managed to survive the near-fatal wounds. Though he did not die as Marco had hoped, the stab wound in his skull left his brain damaged and caused him to lose his cognitive thinking. Marco forced Dante to renounce his marriage, and proceeded to make Dante his personal slave. Marco then married Dante's ex-wife and made her his own, though she never lost hope for Dante.[2]
Becoming Doge
- Rodrigo: "And you were never given permission to make plans"
- Marco: "I'm sorry maestro, we only wish to serve."
- —Rodrigo and Marco discussing about their plans[src]
Like most of the Barbarigo family, Marco became involved with "the Spaniard" Rodrigo Borgia and his plot to take over the Venetian government. In 1485, after the assassination of his relative Emilio Barbarigo, Marco, Dante Moro, Silvio
Barbarigo and Carlo Grimaldi met with Rodrigo Borgia to plan the assassination of the current Doge Giovanni Mocenigo. Unknown to them at the time, the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze had eavesdropped on the meeting and discovered the Barbarigos' allegiance. After the death of Doge Mocenigo, whom Ezio failed to rescue, Marco was appointed the new Doge, and declared Ezio an enemy of Venice for the murder of Giovanni Mocenigo. [2]
Death
- "Welcome, my friends, to the grandest social event of the season! At peace or at war, in times of prosperity or paucity - Venezia will always have Carnevale!"
- ―Marco presenting a speech to the public[src]
Marco spent most of his time in Venice hidden in the Palazzo Ducale, never to emerge. However, Ezio gained entrance to Barbarigo's private party for the Carnevale using a Golden Mask, which allowed the bearer immediate, unquestioned entrance to the party. This mask had been stolen from Marco's manservant Dante, who alerted the city guards to the theft once he was aware of the missing item.[2]
Despite the guard's attempts to locate him, Ezio remained invisible amongst his hired courtesans until Marco emerged from his boat to celebrate the Carnevale with his 'fellow man'. The party was short-lived as Ezio shot down Marco using the hidden gun. After his death, Marco's brother Agostino Barbarigo took his brother's place as a Doge sympathetic to the Assassin cause. [2]
Appearance
Marco was of medium height and stature, though he was often slightly hunched, giving his body an elderly and weak appearance. He grew long white hair, thinning with age, and a wispy beard of the same color. He generally wore the same attire in public which included a hat to hide his thinning hair, a white ermine mantle and very rich, varied clothing which reflected his noble stature. [2]
His fingers and neck were laden with jewelry, and his soft palms and fingers portrayed the comfortable lifestyle he lived; the thick layers of clothing barely hiding an elderly, overweight man. [2]
Personality
Marco was at heart, a cowardly man- he hid inside of his Palazzo when his fellow Templars' lives were threatened and had a rival murdered through deception rather than challenging him honorably in public. When finally forced to publicize himself, the man stayed aboard a ship as his own party thrived on land. Ezio was forced to use his hidden gun on Marco instead of using stealth, his favored method of assassination. This may show Marco as a cunning foe rather than a coward; he very nearly stayed out of reach of the Assassin.
The man's intelligence was never lacking, and Marco manipulated events around himself to get what he wanted. A whim was often enough to send him on a murderous rampage- always using his hired men though. By having Dante attacked, he was able to win the man's wife and get a tenaciously attentive bodyguard in a single event.
Marco never seemed very aware of his surroundings, and did not recognize the warning signs of his predecessor being murdered in his own Palazzo. His greed and vanity was pronounced through bright, expensive clothing and layers of jewelry that were openly displayed to incur the envy of the poor people of Venice.
Final Words
Marco: No, it's too soon. I'm not ready.
Ezio: We rarely are. Che la morte non sia crudele. (Death be not unkind.) Requiescat in pace. (Rest in peace.)
Trivia
- In Assassin's Creed: Lineage, Marco Barbarigo was portrayed by Frank Fontaine, who was 73 years old at the time.
- In real life, Marco didn't die during the Carnevale, but in August, probably for a dispute between nobles.
- If Ezio shoots Marco with his pistol, he is still transported next to Marco during the sequence in the Memory Corridor, even though Ezio remains where he was after the Memory Corridor sequence.
Notes and references