Colosseum

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The Colosseum, known also as the Anfiteatro Flavio, is one of the most famous landmarks of Rome. It contained one of the Lairs of Romulus, and was one of the locations on which Clay Kaczmarek inscribed a Rift. It was also secretly situated above an ancient vault built by the Isu.

By the time of the Borgia family's rule over Rome, the Colosseum had become dilapidated.

History

Early history and destruction

The construction of the Colosseum began in 72 during the reign of Roman Emperor Titus, and finished in 80. At its height, the Colosseum was able to hold up to 50,000 spectators and was considered one of the greatest architectural achievements in Roman history. It remained relatively intact for several centuries after the Empire fell and served a number of different purposes during the Middle Ages, at one point even being converted into a fortress by one of Rome's noble families.

In 1349, however, a massive earthquake struck Rome, which caused irreparable damage to the theater. As a result, the Colosseum was then left to ruin, and by the 16th century, it became a lair for the Followers of Romulus.

Renaissance

Liberation of Rome

In 1500, the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze ventured to the lower levels of the Colosseum to uncover the conspiracy surrounding the Followers of Romulus and to continue his search for the shrines to Romulus.

The Colosseum's lower levels

Upon arriving, Ezio made his way through a decrepit corridor, and then encountered an individual sitting on a chair. As he reached out to him, the man flung his chair across the room and revealed himself to be a Follower of Romulus, swiping his dagger at Ezio. Just then, a voice bellowed from a raised platform further down the corridor, and a leader dressed in a Jubilee costume ordered a group of followers to kill Ezio.

Defeating the attackers, Ezio confronted the individual who had ordered his death. The man denied Ezio's demand for answers, and fled through a section of the Colosseum, eventually arriving at a crowded Jubilee. Upon discovering the leader hidden amongst the crowd, Ezio chased him to another large corridor.

Jumping on a horse, the leader made another attempt at escape but was soon followed by Ezio, who commandeered a horse of his own. After a short chase, the pair eventually arrived at another room filled with Followers of Romulus. Ezio defeated his attackers and assassinated the leader. Performing a Leap of Faith, Ezio arrived at Juno's Temple and entered the shrine to Romulus, claiming a Scroll of Romulus and one of the keys to the Armor of Brutus. He then left the temple and returned to Rome.

Passion play

The Colosseum's 1503 passion play

By 1503, the Colosseum was used as a place where a play detailing Jesus Christ's crucifixion was held, with crosses displayed for the actors' usage. Cesare Borgia's personal assassin Micheletto Corella attended the play disguised as one of the actors, in an attempt to kill the latest lover of Cesare's sister, Pietro Rossi. However, the plan was foiled when Ezio Auditore also disguised himself and his Assassin apprentices as actors, and they caused a riot in the arena. Once Micheletto was defeated and Pietro saved, a group of mercenaries sent by Niccolò Machiavelli appeared to help Ezio escape.

Some time after, in an attempt to regain power over Rome after his father's death, Cesare Borgia called a meeting with several cardinals inside the Colosseum. However, on their arrival, the cardinals informed him that they had decided to elect Guiliano della Rovere to the Papacy. The meeting was then cut short when Ezio used his Apple of Eden to further weaken Cesare's support.

In 1506, Ezio, guided to the Isu vault underneath the Colosseum by the Apple, hid the artifact to keep it safe for the next five centuries.

Around the same time, Niccolò Machiavelli sent the Assassin Lo Sparviero to investigate the Colosseum after being alerted to various strange happenings. Discovering the Crows being involved and boxes full of Corvix Blades, the Assassin chased one of the Crows' leaders, Matteo Favero, to the top of the Colosseum and eliminated him.

During the War of the League of Cambrai, several fortifications were raised around and inside Rome. A detachment of the Papal Army was sent to build camp around the Colosseum in order to protect the southern part of the city and the ruins.

In the mid-16th century, Pope Sixtus V made plans to use the Colosseum's remaining shells and convert it into a giant wool factory to provide employment to the city's prostitutes. However, he died in 1590, before his plans could come to fruition.

Modern times

In 2012, the modern-day Assassins discovered that Ezio's Apple of Eden was located somewhere near the Colosseum. After finding the password to open the vault below the ancient structure, Desmond Miles and his allies hurried to the site.

Desmond Miles and his allies at the Colosseum

When the Assassins arrived, they realized that a reconstruction project had begun on the Colosseum, indicated by the number of cranes and additional structures within it. The area under the Colosseum, an underground location that previously housed gladiators and transported them up to the arena, had also been excavated. To gain access to the vault, Desmond traversed a maze of scaffolding, broken stone, and construction equipment.

Upon Desmond's arrival, he began to encounter holographic apparitions of Juno, a figure from the First Civilization. Once he retrieved the Apple of Eden, Desmond's body was taken possession of by Juno, and he was forced to stab fellow Assassin Lucy Stillman, who secretly served the Templar. Desmond subsequently fell into a coma.

In 2016, the Colosseum was used as a simulated location by Abstergo Entertainment for their Identity Project. Like most of the simulated locations in the Project, the Colosseum had two aesthetic variations, and as such, could be utilized during dawn or dusk.

The simulation was set during the War of the League of Cambrai. In this simulation, the Colosseum had some planks that could be scaled, implying it was under renovation. The nearby Arch of Constantine was surrounded by fences and Borgia tents, and during dawn, more Borgia tents could be found around the Arch of Septimius Severus.

Behind the scenes

The Colosseum is an ancient landmark that first appeared in Assassin's Creed II, released in 2009, though it can only be seen in the distance in the memory "In Bocca al Lupo". It returned as a fully explorable location in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, released in 2010. After destroying the nearby Borgia tower, it can be purchased for the price of 34,650 florins; making it the most expensive building in the game.

That same year, the Colosseum appeared in Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy, a Facebook game that promoted Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. It only appeared as a territory that could be purchased at the cost of 40,000 florins, after buying Mercati di Traiano.

About a month after Assassin's Creed: Identity was released in open beta in September 2014, the Colosseum appeared as a new playable location that players could select to play the missions introduced in the 26 November update. Through the memory sequences, players could unlock the Colosseum under the dusk aesthetic variation, and purchase another aesthetic variation of the Colosseum, which required the player to reach Heroic rank level 2 and purchase 200 Heroic Tokens in the Heroic Shop.

Unlike Brotherhood, the Colosseum is not fully explorable in this game, with players only able to freely roam in a small area close to the Acquedotto Claudio, as well as the areas near the Arch of Constantine, the Palatine Hill, and under the Acquedotto Claudio.

Trivia

• The Colosseum is elliptical (oval-shaped) in reality, but it was made circular for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, since devising shadows for different sides of the buildings would have "driven game designers nuts".
• In Brotherhood, there were many civilians on the upper levels of the Colosseum, although it is unknown as how they managed to get there. If any of the civilians were interrupted by Ezio, they would begin to freerun down to the lower levels.
• During Desmond's visit to the landmark, the Colosseum appeared much larger than it did in Ezio's time. This is due to the fact that, in modern times, most, if not all, of the Colosseum's underground portions are unearthed.
• When Desmond entered the Colosseum, he saw visions of Ezio's visit to the Lair of Romulus, fighting the Followers and chasing the leader on horseback.

Gallery

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  Concept art of the Colosseum
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  Concept art of the Colosseum
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  Concept art of the Colosseum's interior
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  The interior of the Colosseum
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  Cesare meeting with the cardinals inside the Colosseum
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  Ezio leaving the Colosseum after hiding the Apple of Eden
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  The Colosseum in 2012
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  Database image of the Colosseum in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
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  Database image of the Colosseum in Assassin's Creed: Identity
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  Concept art of the Colosseum in Assassin's Creed: Identity

Appearances

This list is incomplete. You can help the Assassin's Creed Wiki by expanding it.

• Assassin's Creed II (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
• Assassin's Creed: Identity
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice – Roma