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Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest gaming franchises ever and has introduced numerous iconic characters to fans. Any Assassin’s Creed fan has their favorite from the series’ sprawling cast, whether it’s Altaïr, Kassandra, or Edward Kenway. However, the Assassin that has managed to leave the biggest footprint in the industry is undoubtedly Ezio Auditore.
Players control Ezio across three mainline titles and experience his story from birth to death, while he appears in various other titles both in the series and outside of it. So, whether you plan on going back to older games in the series or are more interested in the series’ new approach to gameplay established in Assassin’s Creed Origins, it is worth familiarizing yourself with Ezio Auditore.
Key Info Up Front
Mainline Games: Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Voiced by: Roger Craig Smith
Nationality: Italian
Years active: 1459 – 1524
Ezio Auditore History
Ezio was born in Florence, Italy, to a royal family. He was first silent for so long that his parents began thinking that he was stillborn when he was born. It wasn’t until his father, Giovanni Auditore, gave him some encouragement that he began to cry. Until reaching the age of 17, Ezio lived in privileged peace. He was well-liked by his peers and was given an easy apprenticeship with the renowned banker and friend of his father’s, Giovanni Tornabuoni.
He also was seen to have been a womanizer that held relations with various women throughout the city.
However, he eventually fell in love with Cristina Vespucci in 1476 after seeing her amongst a crowd in a square. While Ezio originally flubbed his introduction to her because he found himself reeling from her beauty, their relationship began when Ezio stopped the unwanted advances toward Cristina being made by Vieri de’ Pazzi. This led to a rivalry between Ezio and Vieri, leading to a gang confrontation, leaving Ezio with his iconic scar across his upper lip.
While Ezio’s wild nature did get him in trouble from time to time, his father remained largely supportive of his actions and would frequently comment that Ezio’s spirit reminded him of his own when he was younger.
It wasn’t until December of 1476 that Ezio learned his father was a member of the elusive Assassin’s Creed. This wasn’t revealed until Ezio returned from running errands to find his home ransacked, his father and two brothers missing, and his mother and sister hiding deep inside the estate. The house’s maid revealed to Ezio that the men of the household had been arrested and taken to the city square and that there was a warrant out for his arrest as well.
Ezio then made his way to the prison tower where his father was being held, and his father led him to a hidden chest filled with Giovanni’s Assassin gear and evidence of a plot against the Auditore family. Ezio did his best to use this evidence to free his father and brothers, but they were ultimately executed regardless. It was then that Ezio found his way into the Assassin’s Creed and began his quest to avenge his family.
Ezio in the Games
Assassin’s Creed II
Assassin’s Creed II introduces Ezio with his birth and sees players going through most of his above history before joining the order. After killing his father, Ezio worked with the family friend Paola, who taught him how to survive in the city as an outlaw through pickpocketing and stealth. She also pointed him toward Leonardo da Vinci to repair the broken, hidden blade Ezio found amongst his father’s things, sparking a lifelong friendship.
Afterward, Ezio and Cristina went to recover the bodies of the Auditores only to find that they were about to be dumped in the river. Cristina persuaded Ezio not to kill the guards as they were only doing their job, and Ezio could recover the bodies. Ezio then realized he had to flee Florence but could not persuade Cristina to accompany him.
Ezio then assassinated Uberto Alberti, the man responsible for executing his family, despite Ezio’s evidence. However, he flew into a rage during the killing and stabbed Uberto rapidly in the chest multiple times. He then proclaimed that the Auditore line would live on to the gathered crowd. Ezio then fled the scene, taking some more evidence of the plot against his family and a letter to Uberto’s life that he sword to deliver to his remaining family members.
After the killing, Ezio fled Florence to his Uncle Mario’s villa in Monteriggioni with his remaining family members.
Mario introduced Ezio to his family’s place in the Assassin’s Creed. Mario trained Ezio in combat and informed him about the Creed’s eternal war with the Templars but was ultimately unable to convince Ezio to join the order. This caused the dejected Mario to leave for the city of San Gimignano to stop the frequent assaults on Monteriggioni that were attempting to kill him.
However, the attacks did not stop because Ezio was there, which made him feel guilty enough to follow after Mario and accept his offer to join the Assassins.
There, Ezio helped Mario kill the Templar behind the assaults, Vieri de’ Pazzi. Ezio killed Vieri after flying into a rage again but was calmed down by his uncle and told to be respectful of those he kills to not sink to their level. Ezio and Mario then returned to Monteriggioni, where Ezio is introduced to Mario and his fathers’ previous efforts to understand the codex of the legendary Codex of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad that they believe leads to a vault with powerful relics within.
Ezio then swears to assassinate all of the Templars behind the destruction of the family, known as the Pazzi conspiracy.
Ezio then returned to Florence and visited Cristina to try and reunite with her. To his dismay, Cristina reveals to him that she had been betrothed to a man named Manfredo. After saving Manfredo from debt-collectors, Ezio forces him to promise to be good to Cristina and swears to kill him if he ever isn’t, much to the disappointment of Cristina. She hopes Ezio will find a way for them to be together.
Ezio then worked to eliminate all members of the Pazzi family in Florence, during which he discovered that the plot extended beyond Florence as well.
This leads Ezio to kill various politicians in Venice while making alliances with members of the Assassin’s Creed and others that oppose the Templar Order. During that time, Ezio also learned about the powerful relic, the Apple of Eden, which he gains possession of and is officially inducted into the Assassins. However, the Apple is eventually stolen from him by Girolamo Savonarola.
Once Ezio recovers the apple, he returns to Florence to find it being controlled by Savonarola with the Apple of Eden. Savonarola used the Apple to turn the citizens there against Medici and called for the burning of sinful objects all across the city. Ezio can recover the Apple of Eden with his allies and uses it to infiltrate the Vatican and defeat Borgia in a fistfight to take control of the Papal Staff. Ezio uses that staff to open a vault that houses a holographic figure known as Minerva.
It is revealed that Minerva is a surviving member of an ancient extinct race that created the pieces of Eden. Minerva then tells Ezio that he is one of their prophets and warns him of a solar flare that could kill all life, leaving Ezio hopelessly confused.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood begins with the family’s estate in Monteriggioni under siege by Papal Armies led by a leader of the Templar Order, Cesare Borgia. The estate is ultimately destroyed during the siege, and Mario is killed while trying to defend it. Ezio is also injured in the attack but can safely escape with his mother and sister. The three then head to Rome to try and end the Borgia family once and for all. Soonly after making it to Rome, however, Ezio succumbs to his injuries and falls unconscious.
Ezio wakes days later in Rome under the care of Niccolò Machiavelli. Machiavelli gives Ezio new gear and helps him heal while the two formulate a plan to take down the Borgia and retrieve the Apple of Eden. Over the course of the following three and a half years, Ezio works to build a sect of Assassins within the city while slowly gaining control over its various districts and quarters.
He eventually takes over as the mentor of the order from Machiavelli shortly before assassinating the Borgia’s banker Juan Borgia and their ally in the French military, Baron de Valois. He then incapacitated Lucrezia Borgia, crippling the Borgia’s foundation and efforts.
Cesare Borgia then flies into a rage over the faltering status of his family and kills his father, claiming rule over the city for himself. However, he struggles to maintain order in Rome and his family’s influence continues to backpedal. Ezio then manages to find the Apple of Eden and uses it to destroy Cesare’s armies, releasing Rome from the control of the Borgia and seeing Cesare being arrested by Pope Julius II. However, Ezio recognizes that Apple is too powerful for one entity to control.
He hides it in a vault below the Colosseum before traveling to the Kingdom of Navarre in Spain to catch up with Cesare after escaping the Pope’s prison. Ezio is then able to kill Cesare himself.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Shortly after the conclusion of Brotherhood, Ezio found a letter from his father about a hidden Assassin library under Masyaf Castle left by Altaïr, sparking the events of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Ezio then travels to Masyaf and is attacked by a group of Templars searching for the library there. However, Ezio manages to escape and kills the Templar Captain and finds the journal of Niccoló Polo, which points him toward finding five seals hidden across Constantinople that are needed to open the library.
Ezio then heads to Constantinople, searching for the seals, and helps the local chapter of Assassins, led by Yusuf Tazim, free the city from Templar control and put it back under the rule of Prince Suleiman. Four of the five seals are then collected by Ezio with the help of Sofia Sartor, and he then travels to the hidden underground city beneath the Templar base of operations, Cappadocia. There, Ezio assassinates the leader of the Templars, Manuel Palaiologos, to take the final seal.
It is then revealed that the newly appointed Prince Suleiman’s uncle, Prince Ahmet, has been working with the Templars to try and get the seals for himself. However, Ezio refuses to hand the seals over to him, resulting in Ahmet kidnapping Sofia and killing Yusuf. Ezio then leads an attack with all of the assassins in Constantinople and can free Sofia from captivity before chasing Ahmet down and retrieving the seals.
Ezio then returns to Masyaf with Sofia and manages to open the library, revealing Altaïr’s skeleton and sending a message to Ezio’s descendent, Desmond Miles, through the second Apple of Eden. Ezio then speaks directly with Desmond, telling him that he hopes he was able to find the answers that Desmond was looking for.
Appearances in Other Assassin’s Creed Properties
The first non-mainline Assassin’s Creed game that Ezio appears in is Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery for the Nintendo DS. During that game, Ezio pauses his search for Girolamo Savonarola, the man who stole the Apple of Eden from him. During that pause in 1491, Ezio works to free the Assassins in Spain imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition. While doing so, Ezio uncovers the plans of the Templars to sail for the New World and establish their control over colonies there early.
Ezio has to save Christopher Columbus and fight Tomás de Torquemada to stop the plans. Along the way, Ezio frees numerous Assassins and kills some Templars.
Ezio also appears as a supporting character in the live-action short film Assassin’s Creed: Lineage, where Devon Bostick plays him. His role in the film is brief but does show Ezio acting as a mentor to other Assassins in the order. Ezio’s mentorship is also referenced in Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, where the protagonist Shao Jun follows his teachings when trying to restore her sect of the order. He also appears in the mobile game Assassin’s Creed Identity as a non-playable character.
He helps Lo Sparviero save Machiavelli from Borgia mercenaries in the Forlì – A Crimson Sunset expansion.
Ezio was also a playable character in the mobile game Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, where he worked with other Assassins to overthrow the Spanish Templar Order. He is also a playable character in the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice board game released in 2018. Finally, Ezio appears briefly in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, where he is shown in a vision that Kassandra gets upon destroying the Cult of Kosmos.
Appearances in Other Series
Ezio’s popularity also saw Ubisoft allowing him to make appearances in various other series. One of the biggest is his role in the fighting game Soulcalibur V, where he is a fully playable unique character. It also came with a non-canonical story of Ezio finding a strange artifact in 1506 and touching part of the cursed sword Soul Edge, sending him 100 years into the future. He then has to fight other characters throughout the series to piece together the rest of the sword and use it to return to his own time.
He has also been added to the massively popular battle royale Fortnite as a playable skin and was a boss featured in Ubisoft’s medieval fighting game For Honor, but only during a limited-time event.
Ezio’s other video game appearances have been limited to cosmetics. His suit is available to unlock in games like Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy XIII-2, PowerUp Heroes, and LittleBigPlanet. His gear was also available in Team Fortress 2 for players who pre-ordered Revelations and included a hidden blade knife for the Spy class.
Lastly, his likeness was also used for a line of Lot18 wines through a partnership with the company and Ubisoft for a wine called “2015 Ezio Auditore Super Tuscan Red Blend.”
Ezio Auditore Key Relationships
Ezio’s most important relationships are those with his family, especially his father and uncle Mario. These relationships are particularly important because they are what drive him to change his ways from a carefree ruffian who didn’t have to worry about anything to the heroic and inspirational leader of the Assassins. That character development is at the core of what made Ezio connect with many players throughout his games.
His relationship with Cristina is also significant to Ezio’s development. Not only does their early relationship show that even then, Ezio was dedicated to protecting those he cared about, but his decision to leave their relationship behind was symbolic of his maturing. Not finding a way to steal Cristina away from her fiance showed that Ezio knew he had no time to be undercutting people and had the much more critical threat of the Templars to concern himself with.
Ezio’s friend Leonardo da Vinci is also a significant person in his life. It does not take long for Leonardo to become a confidant of Ezio’s. His engineering genius also proves to be indispensable for repairing Ezio’s gear and giving him new gadgets. His relationship with Desmond is also essential to understanding Ezio’s role in the greater series, even though they only interact briefly at the end of Revelations.
Desmond is a descendent of Ezio’s that explores his memories through an incredible device known as the Animus to help him find powerful artifacts to fight the modern Templar Order. Through their time together, Desmond starts learning from Ezio’s techniques and can use his memories to find the Apple of Eden and keep it from falling into the Templar’s hands.
Ezio Auditore Quotes
“I am an expert swordsman, and I am skilled in the business of death. I take no pleasure in my skill.”
“Wanting something does not give you the right to have it.”
“My story is one of many thousands, and the world will not suffer if it ends too soon.”
“To say that nothing is true is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile and that we must be the shepherd of our civilization.”
“To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions.”
Conclusion
It is no surprise that Ezio Auditore has become such a popular video game character when looking at his development throughout the series. His journey is an inspirational one that any player can connect to, and it all is mixed in with the classic action of the series’ older titles. His story being told over an entire trilogy also helps give him more depth than most other main characters in the series. Remarkably, they were recently remastered to be enjoyable on modern hardware.
FAQs
Question: How did Ezio die?
Answer: Ezio retired with his wife Sofia Sartor and two children in Tuscany until he died from a heart attack when he was 65.
Question: Does Ezio Auditore’s name mean something?
Answer: Ezio means “Eagle,” commonly used as a symbol for the Assassin’s Creed, while Auditore means “listener,” symbolizing his learning experience within the order.
Question: Was Ezio the best Assassin?
Answer: It can be argued that Ezio is the best Assassin the order has seen. He broadly defined the order’s directives via writing his codex, founding and helping numerous orders throughout the world, and had more success battling the Templars than any other Assassin so far shown in the series.