Italy
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Italy, or Italia to its residents, is a country located in southern Europe, bordering France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north.
Italy served as the birthplace of the Renaissance, a cultural movement which soon spread throughout all of Europe, during the 15th century. At this point, Italy was not yet a unified country, and was divided into numerous city-states that each strived to conquer the other lands of Italy. The primary city-states were the Republic of Florence, the Republic of Venice and the Papal States. While the Assassin Order and Templar Order had been active in Italy as far back as the time of the Roman Empire, it was during the Renaissance that both orders had their primary presence in Italy.[1]
When Rodrigo Borgia became Grand Master of the Templar Order in 1476,[2] the Templars made various plans to take over the main cities of Italy, notably Florence, Venice and Rome. Most of their attempts were thwarted by the Assassins, mainly by Ezio Auditore da Firenze, but the Templars nonetheless managed to seize control of Rome and the rest of the Papal States when Rodrigo Borgia was crowned Pope Alexander VI.[1] His son, Cesare Borgia, conquered several other regions of Italy as Captain General of the Papal Armies. Due to the actions of the Assassins, the Templars' influence in Rome and Italy reduced, and Cesare Borgia blamed his father for his misfortune and killed him in anger. The succeeding Popes Pius III and Julius II didn't favor Cesare, and the Templars were inevitably routed from Italy, while the Assassins kept a strong presence in the country.[3]