Barcelona

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Barcelona is the second largest city of Spain, behind Madrid, and the capital city of Catalonia.

In 1491, the city was home to the Spanish Assassins' local guild. That same year, the Assassins were purged by the Spanish Inquisition; however, they would be rescued soon after thanks to the intervention of the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze. By 1503, the Assassins had re-established Barcelona as a base of operations.

History

Spanish Inquisition

By 1491, Barcelona housed an Assassin guild that, like its contemporary counterpart in Venice, disguised itself as a mere thieves' guild. It was hidden near the center of the city in one of the tallest buildings and was accessible by a hatch on its roof.

That same year, Rodrigo Borgia, Grand Master of the Italian Templars, passed information concerning the local Assassins to the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition, under the control of Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada, were grateful for Rodrigo's aid in purging the city of what they thought to be mere atheistic heretics, and charged the prosecutor Gaspar Martínez with this operation.

Ezio in Barcelona

News of this purge reached the ears of other Assassins abroad, including the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Raphael Sánchez, who both traveled to Barcelona to rescue their comrades. By the time they arrived, however, the Inquisition had already discovered the thieves' guild and raided it.

Ezio subsequently assassinated Gaspar, and saved an Assassin that was about to be burned at the stake right afterwards. With the rescue of the surviving Barcelonan Assassins, Ezio and Raphael moved on to do the same in Zaragoza.

Assassination of Queen Isabella

Around 1503, during the Liberation of Rome, Ezio sent a team of his apprentices to Barcelona to determine the extent of the Templars' influence over Queen Isabella I of Castile, since the death of Luis de Santángel, a member of their order with ties to the queen, had deprived the Assassins of any more intel.

The apprentices located the room of Luis de Santángel and discovered his journal, which revealed that he had resolved to slowly poison the queen before he died. The Assassins had not sought her death previously, even saving her life from the Templars in the aftermath of the Granada War, and they were unsure whether Luis was acting out of revenge for the family he lost to the Spanish Inquisition or to combat Templar power.

A ship in Barcelona's port

After spending much time investigating her and watching her actions, they began to notice that many religious figures had come to dominate her. They also intercepted several Borgia letters which revealed that Rodrigo Borgia, by now Pope Alexander VI, was exploiting her religious fanaticism to intimidate her into absolute compliance. With the threat of Isabella spreading the Spanish Inquisition to Portugal, the Assassins resolved to finish Luis' assassination plot, using one of his old accomplices to resume the administration of the poison. Isabella passed away in 1504 at Medina del Campo as a result.

18th century

In the early 18th century, the region of Catalonia had become an important center of commerce, leading to greater wealth and prosperity in Barcelona. Aligned with this economic growth, the city also saw an increase in poets and musicians. The pirate Edward Kenway, learning of the trade opportunities, sent his fleet to the city, supplying it with food and tobacco, the latter going to the sailors at the old port.

Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War, an Assassin cell led by Ignacio Cardona was based in Barcelona in May 1937. They were joined by "Norbert Clarke", an Assassin sent by the British Brotherhood as backup. Despite some initial hostilities, "Clarke" managed to gain the other Assassins' trust and trained with them while Cardona left to procure weapons. He ran into Eric Blair, who took him to one of his contacts' black market shops. However, before Cardona could purchase any weapons, he was interrupted by the sound of gunshots, as a fight had broken out between the anarchists and communists after the government seized control of the telephone exchange building.

Cardona unleashing the Koh-i-Noor's powers

Going to investigate, the Assassins debated which side to help. During the confusion, "Clarke" revealed the Koh-i-Noor diamond he had on his person, and handed it to Cardona, telling him to use it to end the fight. However, Cardona lost control of the Piece of Eden's powers and nearly killed his teammates until he dropped the jewel and passed out.

While Cardona's fellow Assassins checked on him, they were attacked by the Black Cross Albert Bolden, who had been observing them from the nearby rooftops. Bolden tried to kill "Clarke", but since he was protected by the other Assassins, he resolved to grab the unconscious Cardona and use a smoke bomb to escape. Bolden later explained to Cardona that "Clarke" was in fact the Templar Rufus Grosvenor, who had stolen the Koh-i-Noor from him and tried to manipulate Cardona into unlocking the jewel's full power, convincing the Assassin to join forces to stop Grosvenor.

Modern times

Since at least May 2006, a bicycle and pedestrian crossing signal has been present at the intersection of Carrer d'Ausiàs Marc and Carrer de Ribes.

Gallery

• 
  A map of the Crown of Aragon showing Barcelona
• 
  Barcelona, May 1937
• 
  Barcelona traffic lights, 2006

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
• Assassin's Creed: Recollection
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Uprising