Pietro Rossi
- "I love you so. I want to sing it to the heavens."
- ―Pietro professing his love secretly to Lucrezia Borgia.[src]
Pietro Rossi (1470 - unknown) was a stage performer, and one of Lucrezia Borgia's lovers.
Biography
As of 1500, Pietro was engaged in a relationship with Lucrezia Borgia, the daughter of Pope Alexander VI. However, due to Lucrezia's brother Cesare Borgia being known for his jealous rages - one of which caused him to have Lucrezia's last husband killed - they kept their relationship a secret. In order to allow him to visit her easily and unnoticed, Lucrezia gave Pietro a key to the side door of the heavily-guarded Castel Sant'Angelo.
On one of Pietro's visits, however, Lucrezia instructed a guard to spy on the two of them as Pietro kissed her and openly confessed his love for her. After Pietro left, Lucrezia then told the guard to inform her brother of their relationship, wishing to purposefully make Cesare jealous.
In 1503, Cesare sent his personal assassin Micheletto Corella to kill Pietro while he rehearsed his role as Jesus Christ in the Passion play, which was to be held in the Colosseo. Unbeknownst to him, Micheletto had infiltrated the cast, and planned to stab him to death in an "accident," under the guise of his role as the Centurion who had been asked to check if Jesus was dead.
During the Crucifixion act, however, the rehearsal was interrupted by the Assassin Ezio Auditore, who had intended to kill Micheletto before he could harm Pietro. Despite this, Micheletto had planned ahead, and had poisoned the wine that Pietro had drank earlier on in the act.
Foregoing his planned assassination, much to Micheletto's surprise, Ezio instead rushed Pietro away from the fight to the nearest doctor.
After Pietro appeared to be recovering from the cantarella poison, Ezio demanded that he give him the key to the Castel Sant'Angelo. As Pietro protested that he was only a poor actor, Ezio revealed that Cesare knew of his and Lucrezia's affair, to which the other finally handed over the key.
Trivia
- In the novelization of Brotherhood, Pietro is called Pietro Benintendi.
- The way Ezio is holding Pietro as he picks him up is an almost exact reenactment of Michelangelo's Pietà.
- If you view Pietro in Eagle Vision, the fake crown of thorns he's wearing turns gold.
Gallery
-
Pietro and Lucrezia in the Castel Sant'Angelo. -
Pietro as Jesus Christ. -
Pietro on the stage of the Passion play.
-
Ezio carrying Pietro to safety.
-
Pietro and Ezio at the doctor's.
Reference
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||