Assassin’s Creed is a series built around real history, showing how the Assassins and the Templars fought each other over time. The franchise has consistently put interesting twists on different time periods, like the American Revolution and Ancient Greece.
The first Assassin’s Creed set the precedent, but it wasn’t until Assassin’s Creed 2 that the series really started to play with the story. From befriending Leonardo da Vinci to getting into a punching fight with the Pope, Assassin’s Creed 2 it was an incredible experience.
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Some of the historical figures in the game are obvious, but Assassin’s Creed 2 goes much deeper than the surface level. Here are all the historical figures in Assassin’s Creed 2.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci is the most obvious historical figure in Assassin’s Creed 2, and easily the most famous. The brilliant inventor is one of the most brilliant individuals ever, and he becomes one of Ezio’s closest friends in Assassin’s Creed 2. Da Vinci always assists Ezio in his search, and even gives him inventions to use, like the flying machine.
Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI)
The main villain of Assassin’s Creed 2 is Rodrigo Borgia, who ends up becoming Pope Alexander VI. Borgia is a very notorious historical figure, known for disregarding many aspects of his position, including celibacy. As Pope, he used political machinations to gain power and retake the Papal States, but Rodrigo is generally known for his cruelty, which made him perfect for the game’s villain.
Lorenzo de ‘Medici
Lorenzo de ‘Medici was one of the most influential figures in the Italian Renaissance and the leader of the Florentine Republic. Historically, Medici was one of the main reasons for peace between the various Italian states, and in Assassin’s Creed 2 he is an important ally of the assassins and the Auditore family.
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza was another key figure in the Renaissance, who accumulated great political power through diplomacy, war and sex. Her character in Assassin’s Creed 2 it is a direct representation of her historical records, and she even becomes something of romantic interest to Ezio.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli is someone that many people have probably heard of, considering that he was a famous diplomat, philosopher and writer. By many, he is considered the father of modern political science. Because of this, Machiavelli was a perfect fit for a key member of the assassins, working as the mentor of the Italian Brotherhood.
Giuliano de’Medici
Giuliano is the brother of Lorenzo de’Medici, although he is not as famous as his brother, and as such he worked as a co-governor of Florence. Unfortunately, Giuliano does not play a big role in Assassin’s Creed 2 how he is murdered by the conspirators during an attempt on Lorenzo’s life.
Angelo Ambrogini
Angelo Ambrogini was an Italian scholar and poet, better known by the nickname Poliziano. He was an important ally for the Medici family, and in Assassin’s Creed 2 it helps to stop the conspiracy of Pazzi that tries to assassinate Lorenzo.
Agostino Barbarigo
Agostino Barbarigo served as Doge of Venice from 1486-1501, and he begins as an ally of the Assassins, unlike his brother Marco, who joined the Templars. Eventually, however, Agostino fell victim to the Templar’s influence and turned against the Assassins, who killed him in turn.
Marco Barbarigo
Unlike his brother Agostino, Marco is a cruel and unforgiving person in Assassin’s Creed 2. Historically, Marco was the Doge of Venice from 1485-1486, with his reign ending after he mysteriously died. Of course, that made him a perfect target for Ezio.
Bartolomeo d’Alviano
Bartolomeo was an illustrious captain who gained notoriety in the defense of Venice from the Holy Roman Empire. Your role in Assassin’s Creed 2 it is, of course, a little embellished. He is a key character in the game as the leader of a band of mercenaries and a member of the Italian Brotherhood.
Jacopo de’Pazzi
Jacopo de’Pazzi is one of the main villains of Assassin’s Creed 2, and the main architect of the Pazzi Conspiracy, which is actually a historic event and not just a narrative piece in the game. The Pazzi family planned to kill the Medici brothers and take over the government of Florence, but they failed both in real history and Assassin’s Creed 2. The Pazzi were insulted in Florence and Jacopo ended up being hunted and hanged, although in the game it is Rodrigo Borgia who kills him for his failure.
Francesco de’Pazzi
Francesco de’Pazzi is Jacopo’s nephew and one of the main responsible for the Medicis assassination attempt. Although the attempt succeeded in killing Giuliano, Francesco was killed in the process. At the Assassin’s Creed 2 it is Ezio who does the action. It is interesting to note that Francesco has a son named Vieri in the game, although he is not really a real historical person.
Bernard de baroncelli
Bernard de Baroncelli was another member of the Pazzi Conspiracy and helped with the murder of Giuliano de’Medici. Unlike Francesco, he escaped the scene, but was later hunted. In real history, he was found in Constantinople and escorted back to Florence to be hanged, while in Assassin’s Creed 2 Ezio hunts him in San Gimignano.
Stefano Da Bagnone
Stefano Bagnone was the chaplain of Jacopo de’Pazzi and, as expected, another member of the Pazzi Conspiracy. Bagnone was charged with murdering Lorzeno de’Medici on April 26, 1478, while he was attending Holy Mass in Santa Maria del Fiore. Historically, Bagnone fails and is disgraced and hanged, but Ezio ends the attempt by mingling with the other monks.
Archbishop Francesco Salviati
Francesco Salviata was the archbishop of Pisa in 1474 and used his position and influence to help organize the Pazzi Conspiracy. He was more of a conspirator who failed to assassinate Medici, with Ezio hunting him in Assassin’s Creed 2.
Giovanni Mocenigo
Giovanni Mocenigo served as the Doge of Venice from 1478-1485. The Templars of the Pazzi Conspiracy desperately seek their loyalty in Assassin’s Creed 2, but as soon as Ezio Auditore arrives in Venice, the group decides that he is out of time and chooses to murder Mocenigo.
Checco and Ludovico Orsi
The Orsi family does not have much history about them, but they played a role in the general Pazzi Conspiracy. In 1488, Checdco and Ludovico Orsi sent a conspiracy against Girolamo Riario, husband of Caterina Sforza. At the Assassin’s Creed 2 Caterina hires the Orsis to kill Riario, and the brothers are then hired by the Borgia to kill Caterina.
Antonio Maffei
Antonio Maffei was a Florentine monk who helped Lorenzo’s assassination attempt in Santa Maria del Fiore. Historically, Maffei was cut in the throat during the attempt, but in Assassin’s Creed 2 Maffei manages to escape and take refuge in San Gimignano. Of course, it won’t be long before your time comes in the hands of Ezio Auditore.
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola was a well-known Italian friar and preacher during the Italian Renaissance. He was known for speaking openly about the exploitation of the poor and was pushing for repentance and reform. Savanarola was protected by Lorzeno de’Medici and came to be seen as a kind of prophet. Finally, Savanarola’s work reached him, as his prophecies did not come true. The friar was hanged publicly, but this is much more used in Assassin’s Creed 2, as Savanarola is considered a tyrannical ruler.
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