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Italy (Italian: Italia) was a country located in southern Europe , and home to the Italian branch of the Order of Assassins during the 13th to 16th Centuries. Italy also served as the birthplace of the Renaissance, and had many beautiful cities and towns dotted across the landscape: Venice, Florence, Monteriggioni, Forlì and Rome to name a few.
Despite the ideals of the Renaissance spreading out across all Italy, during this period the nation remained divided into a multitude of city-states and Republics, notables of which included La Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia, and the Papal States. Taking advantage of this division, the Templars attempted to seize control of much of northern Italy during the late 15th century, but were ultimately thwarted in this attempt by Ezio Auditore da Firenze and his fellow Assassins.
History
foundation
After having founded an Assassins Guild in Constantinople, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo traveled to Italy, where they established another Assassins Guild.
During the late 13th century the family that would later become the House of Auditore lived near Venice. Somewhere around 1296, Domenico Auditore was inducted into the Assassin Order. When his master, Dante Alighieri died, Domenico was tasked with the hiding of the Codex in Spain, but he was ambushed by Templar pirates.
With only his son remaining, he started impersonating a nobleman in Florence, using the money he had been given by Marco Polo. His family continued to act as nobles to conceal their affiliation to the Assassins.
Giovanni's travels
In 1476, the Assassin Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, a descendant of Domenico Auditore, discovered the Templars plotted to gain power in Italy. He discovered that the Templars, led by Rodrigo Borgia were planning to murder the Duke of Milan. This act would greatly destabilize the relations between Milan and Florence, allowing the Templars to seize power. Even though he tried to stop them, Giovanni arrived too late to prevent the assassination and started investigating the event for the Medici family.
He set off to Venice, where he infiltrated the Palazzo Ducale and overheard two men sending a messenger to Rome. He followed the messenger to interrogate him, but the messenger took his own life by impaling himself on Giovanni's Hidden Blade without revealing his secrets. Giovanni searched his body and found a letter with the seal of the Barbarigo family. He took the letter to his employer and friend, Lorenzo de' Medici, who found the letter to be encrypted. The letter was then given to Uberto Alberti, who deciphered it with the help of Antonio Maffei, though they kept the contents to themselves. They then proposed to have Giovanni deliver a duplicate letter to expose the man behind the assassination of Galeazzo Sforza, the Duke of Milan.
Giovanni traveled to Rome, posing as the original courier, and witnessed the letter switching hands until it eventually got in the hands of Rodrigo Borgia, who delivered the letter to Pope Sixtus IV. The Pope was worried about the Medici family not respecting him, and Rodrigo played on these feelings to gain "spiritual support and military aid." Rodrigo then made his way to an abandoned church, where Giovanni confronted him. Rodrigo offered him a place in the Templar organization, claiming that they would win the war that hadn't even begun yet, but Giovanni declined the offer and was forced to fend of a number of guards, leaving him wounded and with a broken Hidden Blade.
Auditore execution
Later that year, Francesco de' Pazzi was arrested for his involvement in the plot against the Duke of Milan, and Giovanni Auditore started to prepare for the trial against him. He had one of his sons, Ezio Auditore, deliver a letter to Lorenzo de' Medici for him, but they soon discovered Lorenzo had left the city for a few days. Giovanni was worried by this news, but Alberti told him not to worry. Later that day, he asked Ezio to deliver two more letters and retrieve one from a nearby pigeon coop, which Ezio did. The letters were deliverd to a thief, a courtesan and a mercenary, which confused Ezio, as they were not of such a respectable status as his father. When he went to retrieve the letter from the pigeon coop, he noticed a group of guards marching to his house.
When he returned home, he found the house ransacked and his father and two brothers, Federico and Petruccio taken by the guards. His mother and sister came out of hiding and explained that the guards had taken them away and were looking for Ezio too. Ezio then entrusted his mother and sister to their maid, who would take them to her sister's house.
Ezio went to the Palazzo della Signoria, where his father was being held prisoner, and spoke to him through the bars in front of the window of his cell. Giovanni told Ezio to go to his office and look for a hidden passage, open the chest that was there and take everything that was in it, which Ezio hurriedly did. The chest contained a set of robes, a sword, a broken blade and bracer and a letter adressed to Uberto Alberti, which Ezio delivered.
When he arrived at Alberti's house, Ezio noticed a robed figure moving through the house while he was talking to Uberto, and Uberto quickly assured him everything would be fine and that they had the evidence to free his family.
The next day, Ezio made his way to the Piazza della Signoria, where his family's trial would be held, and saw how Uberto Alberti lied about not having recieved any evidence and sentenced his family to death, after which they were hanged in front of his eyes. Ezio rushed to the stage, but was stopped by the guards and forced to flee.
Ezio went back home, where he found Annetta. She told him the location of his mother and sister, and he found them in a brothel, where Paola was looking after them. He told them what had happened and started training under Paola, so he could take his revenge on Alberti. He also had Leonardo da Vinci repair his Hidden Blade, as he had lost his sword at the execution of his family.
Revenge
After having been taught how to blend by Paola, Ezio went to the Santa Croce, where Verrocchia was displaying his art, knowing that Alberti would be there too. He spotted Alberti entering the courtyard with Lorenzo de' Medici, and quickly followed them. Ezio walked up to him and stabbed him multiple times, after which he declared that the Auditore were not dead, and that he was still alive.
Immediately after this event, the remaining members of the Auditore family left the city, as Ezio was now the most wanted man in Florence. They traveled to Monteriggioni, where they encountered Vieri de' Pazzi, a long-time rival of Ezio, and his men. However, the ambushers were quickly defeated with the help of Mario Auditore and his Mercenaries.
After that, Ezio remained in Monteriggioni for a few months, receiving training from his uncle to become a true Assassin. Once Mario declared Ezio's training to be finished, the latter decided to leave Italy, causing Mario to angrily ride to San Gimignano to deal with Vieri.
Ezio chose to follow his uncle and assist in the siege of San Gimignano, where he overheard Vieri, Francesco and his brother Jacopo speaking with Rodrigo Borgia. They were discussing a conspiracy concerning the Medici family, though no details were revealed. Ezio eventually faced Vieri on top of one of the city walls and due to Ezio's new training, he was able to defeat Vieri.
Upon returning to Monteriggioni, Ezio informed his uncle of his decision to stay and take revenge on the men who had plotted against his family. After this, he traveled to Florence again, preparing to stop whatever plan the Templars had prepared.
Pazzi Conspiracy
Hoping to find leads to the Templar plot in Florence, Ezio visited Leonardo da Vinci, who told him to seek out a man named La Volpe. Ezio eventually found the man, who in turn directed him to the Santa Maria Novella, where he would find Francesco de' Pazzi. Ezio traversed the catacombs and managed to eavesdrop on a secret meeting between the Templars, where he discovered they were planning to kill Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother, Giuliano de' Medici. Ezio immediately told La Volpe of his discoveries, who told him he had to prevent the conspirators from harming the Medici.
The next day, Ezio went to the Duomo, where the attack was to happen. He noticed Lorenzo and Giuliano's arrival, and also saw Francesco de' Pazzi and one of his co-conspirators, Bernardo Baroncelli. They attack Giuliano, while two of the priests attack Lorenzo. Ezio managed to save Lorenzo, though he was too late to rescue Giuliano.
Immediately after the attack, Florence was in chaos, with Medici guards fighting of the attacking Pazzi guards. Ezio made his way to the Palazzo della Signoria, where he managed to assassinate Francesco after a short chase across the rooftops.
While the crowds were cheering to the Pazzi conspirators, being rallied by Jacopo de' Pazzi, Francesco's body was thrown from the Palazzo roof, causing the other conspirators to flee the city because of their failed attempt to seize power.
Ezio soon discovered they had fled to San Gimignano in Tuscany, where he managed to seek them out with the help of his uncle's mercenaries. He assassinated Antonio Maffei, Bernardo Baroncelli, Francesco Salviati and Stefano da Bagnone, receiving information on Jacopo de' Pazzi's whereabouts from all of them. He then followed Jacopo to The ancient Roman theatre, where he witnessed a meeting between Rodrigo Borgia, Jacopo de' Pazzi and a merchant from Venice, Emilio Barbarigo.
Rodrigo and Emilio stabbed Jacopo for not having kept his promises and then directed their attention to Ezio, sending the guards to deal with him. Ezio defended himself and finished of Jacopo. He then returned to Florence to report his progress and seek out his friend Leonardo, though he was told Leonardo had moved to Venice.
Modern Times
(Rewrite)During the early 21st Century, Abstergo Industries, a front company for the Templar Order, had a presence in Italy, whilst the Assassins continued to maintain a presence of their own. During the year 2012, the Assassins established themselves in both the Hideout, the location of which is unknown, and later the Sanctuary beneath the city of Monteriggioni. (Rewrite)