Diaries of Maria Auditore

"How privileged a life we lead. It is hard to remember on such a day that what is given may also be taken away."

―The final lines in Maria's diaries.

The diaries of Maria Auditore da Firenze were autobiographical accounts of her life during the Italian Renaissance. Beginning when she was the young daughter of the Mozzi family, Maria continued writing after meeting and marrying Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, leading to a multi-volume diary that became one of the most famous historical sources of the time period.

Content and legacy

"I grow tired of these walls that surround me and am bored with safety. Now, is the time to make a decision: I will go out there and see what my life may truly be."

―Excerpt from a 1448 entry.

The diaries detailed the life of a young noblewoman, as she opened a bakery in the courtyard of her family palazzo, which she quickly turned into a gathering place for artists. The volumes continue for decades, describing her meeting her future husband, her patronage of several up-and-coming artists and her trials as a mother, abruptly stopping in 1476. That year, after the arrest and subsequent execution of her husband and two of her sons, Federico and Petruccio, during which she was mistreated by the Florentine guards, she entered a semi-catatonic state and ceased writing.

The diaries were highly regarded by historians as important primary sources for life in Florence during the Renaissance, being translated by several notable scholars and currently on display at the Uffizi Gallery. The abrupt end of Maria's writings left historians disappointed, as they could not find any clear explanation for why she ceased writing.

Appearences

• Assassin's Creed II (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned in Database entry only)