Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a fictional character in the video game seriesAssassin's Creed.
He serves as the protagonist of Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and
Assassin's Creed: Revelations, as well as the portable game Assassin's Creed II: Discovery.
Starting out as a carefree youth, he begins a quest for vengeance after his family was
murdered by the Templar Order.
Trained by the Assassins, Ezio begins killing those responsible for his family's murder.
Over the years, Ezio changes from being a mere vigilante, to the new leader of the Assassin's
Order, defending their ideals all over the world.
He lived from 1459 to 1524.
Character background Ezio Auditore da Firenze was a Florentine
nobleman during the Renaissance and the Mentor of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins, a
title which he held from 1503 to 1512.
He is also an ancestor to William and Desmond Miles, as well as Clay Kaczmarek.
A member of the House of Auditore, Ezio remained unaware of his Assassin heritage until the
age of 17, when he witnessed the hanging of his father and two brothers, Federico and
Petruccio.
Forced to flee his birthplace with his mother and sister, Ezio took refuge in the Tuscan
town of Monteriggioni, at the Villa Auditore.
After learning of his heritage from his uncle, Mario Auditore, Ezio began his Assassin training
and set about on his quest for vengeance against the Templar Order and their Grand Master,
Rodrigo Borgia, who had ordered the execution of his kin.
During his travels, Ezio managed to not only unite the pages of the Codex, written by Altaïr
Ibn-La'Ahad, but also to save the cities of Florence, Venice, and Rome from Templar rule.
He ensured the future travels of Christoper Colombo to the "New World", liberated Rome
from Borgia rule, and prevented the rise to power of Ercole Massimo's Cult of Hermes which
helped spread the Renaissance and Assassin ideals of independence and free will throughout
Italy.
In the years that followed, Ezio began a quest to rediscover the lost history of the Order.
Traveling to the aged fortress of Masyaf in order to learn more of the Assassins before
him, he discovered it overrun with Templars and made his way to the city of Constantinople
to uncover the location of the Masyaf keys which, as he discovered, would unlock the
fortress's fabled hidden library when brought together.
A decade later, Ezio had retired and resided in a Tuscan villa with his wife, Sofia Sartor,
and his two children; Flavia and Marcello.
Some time after helping teach the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun the ways of the Order, Ezio
was attacked twice by Chinese Imperial soldiers, during an errand run in Florence.
Though both narrowly triumphant, the attacks worsened Ezio's condition.
Afterwards, he and Shao Yun parted ways, but not before giving her a box and tells her
to open it when she lost her way.
He later passed in peace on a bench in a Florence market, with his wife and daughter in sight.
Appearances Assassin's Creed
As it is shown in the beginning of Assassin's Creed II, Ezio was born into the nobility
on June 24, 1459, in the city of Florence.
Ezio led an affluent, care-free lifestyle until a tragic turn of events changed his
life forever.
Betrayed by corrupt Nobles, Ezio's family were the victims of an evil plot that ultimately
took the lives of his father and brothers.
Of the Auditore men, only Ezio was able to escape because the capturing happened while
Ezio was running errands for his father.
Through Ezio's help however, both his mother and younger sister managed to survive, finding
a way to escape the city with him.
According to the Florentine Guard's record books, Ezio appeared as a womanizer, with
guards rarely able to capture him.
From the day of his family's execution, Ezio is labeled a criminal and a traitor.
This atrocity leads to Ezio beginning the ways of the Assassins.
With the help of a good friend Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio is able to get one of his father's
weapons, the Hidden Blade, and uses it to kill Uberto Alberti, one of the men responsible
for the execution.
Afterward, Ezio flees with his mother and sister out of Florence to Monteriggioni and
meet with his uncle Mario, who saves them from an attack from another family, the Pazzi.
Mario teaches Ezio how to fight, and soon, Ezio and Mario are able to corner one of the
Pazzi and Ezio assassinates him.
Soon, Ezio continues his work as an Assassin, killing numerous enemies and helping many
factions such as the Thieves, Courtesans, and Mercenaries.
But a new enemy named Rodrigo Borgia is discovered by Ezio to be a sworn enemy to his father,
Giovanni.
Time goes on, with Ezio continuing to bring criminals to justice and his hunt for Borgia
continues, in a quest that takes him to several important cities of the Italian Renaissance.
But soon, when Ezio finally corners Borgia in Venezia, Mario, Paola and many more Assassins
help Ezio fight Borgia's men.
Antonio of the Thieves faction, surprises Ezio by being an Assassin, and another man,
Niccolò Machiavelli is soon discovered to also be one.
An ancient ceremony is then conducted, and Ezio is inducted into the ranks of the Assassins
and is also revealed to be the Prophet, who will lead them to "the Vault", by bringing
together the scattered pieces of the Codex, a sacred book of the order written by Altaïr,
containing all the knowledge of the order and all the secrets he gathered from the Apple
of Eden.
During the events of Assassin's Creed II: Discovery, which plays during Assassin's Creed
II, Ezio travels to 15th century Spain in 1490 to free his fellow assassins, who have
been imprisoned under the guise of the Spanish Inquisition.
In the process, he discovers that the Knights Templar are planning to sail west to discover
the New World.
Ezio had to save Christopher Columbus and kill Tomás de Torquemada to end the Templar
threat.
Ezio also had to assassinate some other important targets such as: Gasper Martinez, Pedro Llorente,
a Templar spy, and Juan de Marillo.
Along the way Ezio saves many assassins who help him, including Luis de Santángel and
Raphael Sanchez.
Also Granada City is taken under siege by Templars and Ezio has to save the Moorish
King Muhammad XII.
Ezio also encounters Queen Isabella.
Years later, in 1492, Borgia becomes Pope Alexander VI at Vatican City.
By 1499, Ezio and his allies are revealed to have completed the Codex and discover that
"the Vault" lies in Rome, with the Papal Cross being another Piece of Eden.
Ezio's allies then distract the city while Ezio infiltrates the Vatican.
Ezio attempts to assassinate Borgia, but after a long fight, the Pope used his Staff to freeze
Ezio, wounding him with a knife, then escaping with both the Staff and the Apple.
Ezio used his Eagle Vision to find Borgia and fights him unarmed, easily defeating the
older man.
Ezio decides to let Borgia live, realizing that vengeance is not so sweet, and it will
not bring back his family if he kills him.
Now wielding the Staff and Apple, Ezio opens the Vault, in which a holographic figure approaches
him, calling herself "Minerva" and identifies him as the Prophet.
She explains of others like her who were an advanced society that lived with humans, but
both of them went to war.
Then, a natural, celestial disaster had occurred, and the surviving humans had rebuilt humanity,
and also made several Temples to avoid the disaster from happening again.
Minerva then fades after mentioning Desmond Miles, the protagonist of the series viewing
the memories of Ezio, that the rest is up to him.
Ezio is left confused as he tries to ask who Desmond is.
After returning to his uncle's villa from Rome at the start of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood,
the villa is besieged by the Papal Armies led by Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Rodrigo
Borgia and the new de facto leader of the Templar Order.
The legendary Apple of Eden is lost, the villa is sacked, Caterina Sforza is kidnapped, and
Ezio's uncle Mario is killed in the siege.
Escaping outside the city with his mother and sister and the surviving townsfolk, Ezio
sets off for Rome to destroy the Borgia Family once and for all.
However, Ezio seriously wounded himself in the villa attack; he collapses and falls unconscious
on the road to Rome.
Days later, Ezio awakens in Rome in the care of good Samaritan.
He receives a new set of assassin robes and his basic gear, brought to him by a mysterious
man.
After healing up, Ezio meets with Machiavelli and sets his plans in motion to liberate Rome
and remove the Borgias from power permanently, as well as retrieve the Apple of Eden.
Slowly, over the next 3 1/2 years, Ezio and his allies win a series of victories over
the Borgias, reclaiming and restoring the city.
In 1503, Ezio assassinates Cesare's banker and French general ally, leaving his power
base in disarray.
Cesare, in a fit of rage, kills his father, the Pope, and begins losing control over the
city.
By the end of 1503, Borgia control over the city is completely broken and Cesare is arrested
by the new Pope.
Ezio had also recovered the Apple of Eden and hid it below the Colosseum in the Temple
of Juno.
Cesare ultimately escapes from prison and heads to Spain to raise a new army.
In 1507, Ezio travels to Spain and catches up with Cesare at the siege of Viana Castle.
Ultimately defeated by Ezio, an indignant Cesare Borgia is thrown off the castle walls
to his death.
Ezio then returns to Rome as the leader of the new Brotherhood of Assassins.
After the events of Brotherhood, Ezio discovers a letter from his father that talks about
a hidden library full of vast knowledge hidden underneath Masyaf Castle by legendary Assassin
Altaïr Ibn La'Ahad, setting the events of Assassin's Creed: Revelations into motion.
In 1510, Ezio sets out from Rome to uncover this library and the knowledge it contains.
Arriving at Masyaf in early 1511, Ezio is ambushed by Templars who occupy the fortress
and are also searching for Altaïr's Library.
After escaping capture and assassinating the Templar captain, Ezio recovers the journal
of Niccolò Polo, which tells of the five seals hidden in Constantinople which will
open the door to Altaïr's library.
Arriving in Constantinople, Ezio begins his search for the seals while helping the local
Assassin's Guild get rid of Byzantine Templar control.
Ezio succeeds in eradicating Templar influence and subjugating the city to the rule of the
family of Prince Suleiman.
Recovering four of the five keys, Ezio then travels to an underground city in Cappadocia
in the year 1512, the new Templar base of operations.
After assassinating the Templar leader Manuel Palaiologos and recovering the final key,
it is revealed that Prince Suleiman's uncle Prince Ahmet has been secretly leading the
Byzantine Templars and wishes to open Altaïr's library for himself.
Upon returning to Constantinople, Ezio finds that his love interest Sofia Sartor has been
kidnapped by Ahmet to force Ezio to return the keys.
Leading an attack with the Constantinople Assassins, Ezio ultimately saves Sofia and
recovers the keys from Ahmet.
Ezio and Sofia make their way back to Masyaf and open Altaïr's Library, where Ezio finds
Altaïr's Apple of Eden and that the entire purpose of the library was to convey a message
to Ezio's descendant Desmond Miles.
In the animated short Assassin's Creed: Embers, it is shown that Ezio retired from the Assassin
Order and settled down in a Tuscan villa of Monteriggioni with Sofia and had two children,
Flavia and Marcello.
Years later, a mysterious Chinese woman appears at his door requesting his help.
The woman, Shao Jun, is a member of the Chinese Assassin Order and sought Ezio's advice in
how to help her people and rebuild their order.
After helping Shao fight off soldiers sent by the Chinese Emperor, Ezio sees Shao on
her way back to China, armed with the wisdom she came seeking Ezio for.
Shortly thereafter, while on a trip to the market square in Florence, Ezio dies of a
heart attack.
His legacy and contributions to the Assassin order would continue to resonate for hundreds
of years following his death.
Other appearances Ezio also appears as a guest character in
the fighting game Soulcalibur V. His costume is unlockable in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox
360 versions of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Final Fantasy XIII-2, as well as
in LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation 3 and PowerUp Heroes for Kinect on the Xbox 360.
His outfit can also be unlocked in Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
His signature hood was presented as promotional headgear to Team Fortress 2 players who had
pre-ordered Assassin's Creed: Revelations, along with a special knife modeled after his
hidden blade for the Spy class in the game.
Reception The character was critically acclaimed by
the media and general public alike.
Ezio Auditore received an award from GameSpot for the "Best New Character" in 2009.
GameZone had him nominated for "Gaming God of 2009".
He was also nomination at the Spike Video Game Awards 2010 for "Best Character" and
received an award for the "Best Dressed Assassin".
The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition lists Ezio as the 35th most popular video
game character.
Ezio was also voted as the third top character of the 2000s decade by Game Informer's readers.
In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the seventh "most memorable, influential, and badass"
protagonist in games.
They also placed him second on the list of most badass game characters of the generation,
saying "Ezio has become synonymous with the image of the video game assassin", and declared
him the "Mister 2009" in their article on the sexiest new characters of the decade of
2000.
Further, GamesRadar placed him at number 4 in a list of the 50 best game characters of
the generation.
Complex listed Ezio among the "most badass" video game character of all time in 2013,
ranking him at 37th place.
Complex ranked him as having the tenth best fighting game cameo for his guest appearance
in Soulcalibur V in 2012.
PlayStation Official Magazine ranked Ezio fifth on their list of "finest facial hair
gaming has to offer".
He also featured on UGO Networks's list of most memorable Italians in video games at
15th place.
References
External links Ezio Auditore da Firenze on The Assassin's
Creed Wiki