Secret location

Ezio activating the secret mechanism that indicated an Assassin Tomb

Secret locations were locations which required a combination of freerunning and puzzle solving to be navigated, and which were visited throughout the ages by several Assassins, most notably by Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

Renaissance Italy

Assassin Tombs

Ezio recovering one of the Assassin Seals

The Assassin Tombs were landmarks around Italy, six of which housed the tomb of an Assassin who was said to have "protected the freedom of mankind when it was most threatened". These shrines also contained seals which were collectively used to obtain the Armor of Altaïr within the sanctuary beneath the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.

In addition to these, the Auditore Family Crypt in Monteriggioni was also considered an Assassin Tomb.

• Florence
  • Santa Maria Novella – contained the tomb of Darius.
  • Santa Maria del Fiore – contained the tomb of Iltani.
• Torre Grossa in San Gimignano, Tuscany – contained the tomb of Wei Yu.
• Rocca di Ravaldino in Forlì, Romagna – contained the tomb of Qulan Gal.
• Venice
  • Basilica di San Marco – contained the shrine of Amunet.
  • Santa Maria della Visitazione – contained the tomb of Leonius.
• Auditore Family Crypt in Monteriggioni – contained the tomb of Domenico Auditore and his son.

Templar Lairs

Ezio hiding from the Templars in the Palazzo Medici

The Templar Lairs hid treasure that presumably belonged to and funded the activities of the Templar Order, with the exception of the Palazzo Medici, which was the abode of the Assassin-allied Medici family being attacked by soldiers of the Templar-allied Pazzi family in 1479. All of these could be accessed through a wooden door marked with a large red cross.

• Palazzo Medici in Florence
• Santa Maria Dei Frari in Venice
• Arsenal Shipyard in Venice

Rome

Secret locations were also found in Rome, in the form of Lairs of Romulus. There were six of them in total, located throughout the city at various landmarks. Additionally, there were also two Templar Lairs that could be accessed from Rome.

Ezio in a Lair of Romulus

Completing all of the Lairs of the would allow Ezio to obtain two of the treasures they guarded, namely the armor and dagger of Marcus Junius Brutus. Through traversing these locations, Ezio also obtained documents that gave background details on the Followers of Romulus as well as the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Lairs of Romulus

• Nero's Golden Palace (accessed through Terme di Traiano)
• Catacombe di Roma (accessed through Piramide Cestia)
• Colosseo
• Cloaca Maxima (accessed through Terme di Diocleziano)
• Palazzo Laterano
• Basilica di San Pietro

Templar Lairs

• Mercati di Traiano
• Tivoli

Constantinople

In Constantinople, there were several secret locations that could be explored.

Masyaf Keys

Ezio retrieving the Masyaf Key from Maiden's Tower

As the main focus for Ezio's search for knowledge, he sought out the locations of the keys to the Library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. A map to each location could be found in rare books, which were hidden within the city.

• Yerebatan Cistern
• Galata Tower
• Forum of the Ox
• Maiden's Tower

Others

As well as locations that hid the Keys, two other secret locations resided in the city.

• Hagia Sophia – required all ten Ishak Pasha's memoir pages to be accessed.
• Vlad the Impaler's Prison – location discovered by interacting with a tome in Sofia Sartor's book shop and accessed through a gate in the city walls.

Golden Age of Piracy

Islands

• Black Island
• Mystery Island
• Sacrifice Island

Others

• Temple of Tulum

Seven Years' War

Forts

• Fort de Sable

Colonial America

Peg Leg trinkets

Ratonhnhaké:ton arriving at the Edinburgh Castle

Collecting trinkets for a man nicknamed "Peg Leg" allowed the Colonial Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton to explore secret locations in the search of William Kidd's hidden treasure. These locations were unlocked after giving the trinkets to Peg Leg, after which the Assassin could access these locations by speaking with Robert Faulkner.

• Fort Wolcott
• Dead Chest Island
• Northwest Passage
• Edinburgh Castle
• Oak Island

Others

• Cerros

Trivia

• Ezio could encounter a large figure in Santa Maria della Visitazione.
• In Amunet's tomb at the Basilica di San Marco, the banners clearly showed the poison seal, despite her Assassin seal bearing the symbol of a snake. This can be explained by the fact that the snake she used was a venomous one.
• Alexandre Amancio explained that the Secret Locations' design came about as at the time they were unable to allow players to enter such elaborate locations seamlessly.