Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1459 - 1524) was a Florentine nobleman during the Renaissance and, unbeknownst to most historians and philosophers, a Mentor and leader of the Italian Assassins. He was an ancestor to both Desmond Miles and Clay Kaczmarek.

A member of the House of Auditore, Ezio remained unaware of his Assassin heritage until the age of 17, when his father and two brothers, Federico and Petruccio , were hanged before his eyes. Forced to flee his birthplace with his remaining family members, 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 his quest for vengeance against the Templars, and their Grand Master of the Templar Order , Rodrigo Borgia , who had ordered the execution of his kin.

During his travels, Ezio managed to not only unite the pages of the Codex of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins , for the first time since Domenico Auditore , but also to save the cities of Florence, Venice , and Rome from the Templars ' control.

He ensured the future travels of Christoffa Corombo to the "New World," liberated Rome from Borgia rule, and prevented the rise to power of Ercole Massimo 's Cult of Hermes, helping spread the Renaissance and Assassin ideals of independence and free thought 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 about his ancestors, he discovered the fortress 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 a powerful weapon when brought together. After finding these keys he unlockedthe vault using the keys and found the body of Altaïr and the Apple of Eden.

More than a decade later, Ezio was living 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 died of a heart attack at the age of 65, during a trip with his wife and daughter to Florence.