Mercato Vecchio

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The Mercato Vecchio

The Mercato Vecchio, or Republic Square, was a marketplace in Florence during the Renaissance.

History

The center of Florentine business, the Mercato Vecchio served all of the shopping needs of the city. To quote Antonio Pucci, a 14th-century Florentine poet: "Physicians dwelt around for every ill, and here were linen cloths, and flax merchants, pork vendors, and apothecaries."

The Mercato was first established in Roman times, as the city of the Forum, and it was only in 1030 that the landmark was first documented as a marketplace. Staple foods from the countryside, like grain, were the most popular goods sold, followed by wool.

In May 1519, members of the local chapter of the Assassins visited the marketplace as part of their search for the clues to the havens Leonardo da Vinci hid in the city. One of the Assassins' informants tracked down a few fragments of the Annunciation painting to a merchant operating in the Mercato, leading the Brotherhood to retrieving two pieces from his locked chest.

The landmark was also displayed in the virtual training map of Florence, which was used by Abstergo Industries to train the recruits in the first and second stage of the Animi Training Program.

Trivia

• A glyph could be found on the Mercato.
• Mercato Vecchio is Italian for "The Old Market", from mercato, "market" and vecchio, "old".

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• Assassin's Creed: The Last Quest of Leonardo da Vinci