Maria Auditore da Firenze
Maria Auditore da Firenze (née de' Mozzi) was the wife of Giovanni Auditore, a prominent Florentine banker and member of the Order of Assassins. She is the mother of four – Federico, Ezio, Claudia and Petruccio – and the sister-in-law of Mario Auditore. Born into the noble Mozzi family, Maria liked to blend with "real citizens" when she was younger, leading to her chance meeting with the man who would later become her husband. As part of the Auditore family, she continued to fraternize with the lower classes, developing a working relationship with the artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Biography
Early life
Maria de' Mozzi was born in Florence in 1432 into a powerful family. Her parents strongly protected her from the outside world, which she grew tired of by the age of 16. Her parents allowed her to open up a bakery inside the family palazzo. A week later, while in the bakery, she met "a man with such conviction I found myself rooted to the spot, I couldn't look anywhere else." This man, Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, came into a relationship with Maria and two years later, they married.[1]
Life as an Auditore
Following their marriage in 1450, Maria went to live with Giovanni in the latter's personal project, the Palazzo Auditore. Eventually, Maria gave birth to Federico, Ezio, Claudia and Petruccio. Additionally, Giovanni became inducted into the Assassin Order, a secret which she kept from their children.[1][2] Maria herself became inducted into the Order sometime thereafter.[3]
In 1476, Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio were arrested by the Florentine government, in secret for the Templars, and Maria was mistreated when she tried to stop the guards, causing her to go into shock. Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio were tried and hanged, despite Ezio's attempt to prevent it. Maria, who hadn't talked since the arrest, was brought to fellow Assassin Paola alongside Claudia. She remained there for a while until Ezio came to pick them up, bringing them to the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni. She remained sitting in prayer beside her bed, silent, for approximately ten years, at which point Ezio had brought her a hundred feathers.[1] She thanked Ezio for not forgetting about her and she slowly started regaining her temperament.[1][3]
Life in Rome
In January 1500, after Ezio had returned from Rome to discover "the Vault", Monteriggioni was attacked by the Borgia under the command of Cesare Borgia. Maria fled to the sanctuary beneath the Villa, where she waited for Claudia and Ezio to join with her. From there, they fled Monteriggioni via a secret passageway. Ezio told Maria and Claudia to go to Florence, where they would be safe, while Ezio went to Rome to take down the Borgia once and for all. Maria and Claudia secretly followed Ezio to Rome, wanting to help him.[3]
They went to the Assassins' hideout on Tiber Island, where they met with the Order's Grand Master, Niccolò Machiavelli, who told them to go look for Ezio at the Rosa in Fiore, Rome's most popular brothel. When they initially arrived there, Ezio wasn't there but he soon returned with the news that the brothel's madam Madonna Solari was dead. The courtesans needed someone to lead them and thus Claudia signed in for the task. Maria helped her in controlling the brothel. She gave Ezio some tasks to do to aid the brothel.[3]
Gallery
-
Maria Auditore in 1476.
-
Maria in 1476. -
Maria sitting in her room in the Villa Auditore.
Trivia
- She is one of the characters whose appearance never ages during Assassin's Creed II.
- Maria prays for 12-23 years, since all of the places that have feathers are not unlocked until Sequence 9 of Assassin's Creed II.
- She seems to be a skilled surgeon, as she is seen stitching up Giovanni's near-fatal wound in Assassin's Creed: Lineage.
- She only speaks in three parts of Assassin's Creed II: during Ezio's birth, in the quest "Friend of the Family" and when given 100 feathers. However, in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, she speaks more as she then helps Claudia running the Courtesan's brothel and helping out Ezio.
References
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||