Duccio de Luca

"There was once a man called Duccio, a rat with lecherous taste.
Whenever he would show himself, my fist would find his face."

―Ezio Auditore, singing of his run-ins with Duccio, 1511.^[src]^-[m]

Duccio de Luca (1462 – 1520) was a member of the Florentine nobility, who eventually became a trader, ferrying merchandise between Rome and other cities.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Early life[edit | edit source]

By 1476, Duccio was engaged to Claudia Auditore da Firenze.^[1] However, he engaged in affairs with up to six other women at the same time,^[2] claiming that his father had told him he could "do much better than an Auditore". After Claudia was informed of this by other girls, her brother Ezio met with Duccio outside the Duomo, where he beat Duccio up as payback and warned him to stay away from Claudia.^[3]

Life as a trader[edit | edit source]

After ending his relationship with Claudia, Duccio tried to marry into the Pazzi family, but these attempts were cut short by the Pazzi conspiracy's failure in 1478. Through substantial donations to the textile guilds, Duccio became a wool trader, exporting his Florentine products across Italy. In 1490, Duccio bought a small ship, presumably to become an alum trader. However, his ship was too small for him to become a successful trader, and so he earned little profit over the next six years.^[4]

In 1497, he took instead to transporting various goods between cities, achieving some success smuggling illegal wares out of Florence during Girolamo Savonarola's rule.^[4] In 1506, Duccio visited Rome on business, where he learned that Claudia had become the Madame of the Rosa in Fiore, Rome's most popular brothel. Chancing upon Ezio again, Duccio provoked him into a fistfight after insulting Claudia, despite Ezio initially refusing to continue the petty issue from both their childhoods.^[5]

Though aided by several henchmen, Duccio was unable to best Ezio. Grabbing Duccio by the collar, Ezio then demanded the location of the three Leonardo da Vinci paintings that Duccio had acquired. The cowed merchant admitted that one, Lady with an Ermine, was on his ship, while the other two had already been sold. Upon insulting Claudia further, Duccio was ultimately knocked unconscious by Ezio, and left on the docks.^[5]

Later life and death[edit | edit source]

In 1511, Duccio wound up in the Ottoman Empire's capital of Constantinople, where he encountered Sofia Sartor. He attempted to flirt with her, claiming that it was fate that had brought them together, though she was disgusted by his advances. Duccio was soon interrupted by Ezio, who had become close to Sofia. Terrified upon recognizing his old enemy,^[2] who unbeknownst to him had comedically sang of their youthful brawls just nights before to Prince Suleiman I's court,^[6] Duccio fled and warned Sofia to run from "the devil".^[2]

In later life, Duccio's business failed and he was left penniless. He barely survived, only just managing to scrape a living. He eventually returned to Rome, only to die in 1520 from rabies which he likely received from a dog bite.^[4]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

Duccio was called "Duccio Dovizi" in Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, and the Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel.
The "Bully" achievement can be unlocked in Assassin's Creed: Revelations by finding and beating up a drunken Duccio. This can be done multiple times, as Ducio will respawn on his feet after players leave the area. Looting him will uncover but a single akçe coin, implying he was already broke. While Assassin apprentices cannot be sent after Duccio, he can be killed using any weapon without receiving desynchronization warnings. If the player goes just far enough away to trigger the respawn, it can even lead to having multiple Duccio corpses on the ground at the same time.
Duccio's clothes were the same as those worn by the male Assassin recruits that Ezio rescued in Rome.