The Passetto di Borgo, or simply Passetto, is an elevated passage that links the Vatican City with the Castel Sant'Angelo. It is an approximately 800-metre-long (2,600 ft) corridor, located in the rione of Borgo. It was erected in 1277 by Pope Nicholas III, but parts of the wall were built by Totila during the Gothic War.
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance painter and polymath who achieved legendary fame and iconic status within his own lifetime. His renown primarily rests upon his brilliant achievements as a painter, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, being two of the most famous artworks ever created, but also upon his diverse skills as a scientist and inventor. He became so highly valued during his lifetime that the King of France bore him home like a trophy of war, supported him in his old age and, according to legend, cradled his head as he died.
Francesco de' Pazzi was an Italian banker and one of the instigators of the Pazzi conspiracy.
Ezio is an Italian masculine name, originating from the Latin name Aetius.
Giovanni Tornabuoni was an Italian merchant, banker and patron of the arts from Florence.
Desmond Miles is a fictional character from Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed video game franchise. Introduced as the protagonist of the modern-day sections of the first game in the series, he has maintained this role for the next four installments, with his journey and development making up the frame story that unites the first five Assassin's Creed games. He has also been referenced or featured in a smaller capacity in subsequent games in the series, as well as various spin-off media. Desmond is voiced by actor Nolan North and modeled after Canadian fashion model Francisco Randez.
Assassin's Creed II is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and the sequel to 2007's Assassin's Creed. The game was first released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2009, and was later made available on Microsoft Windows in March 2010 and OS X in October 2010. Remastered versions of the game and its two sequels, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations, were released as part of The Ezio Collection compilation for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 15, 2016, and for the Nintendo Switch on February 17, 2022.
Assassin's Creed is an open-world action-adventure stealth video game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice Désilets, Jade Raymond, and Corey May, the Assassin's Creed series depicts a fictional millennia-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace and free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through order and control. The series features historical fiction, science fiction and fictional characters intertwined with real-world historical events and figures. In the majority of the games, players control a historical Assassin, while also playing as an Assassin Initiate or someone caught in the Assassin-Templar conflict in the present-day framing story. Considered a spiritual successor to the Prince of Persia series, Assassin's Creed took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, based on the historical Hashashin sect of the medieval Middle East.
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery is a 2009 action-adventure side-scrolling video game developed by Griptonite Games and published by Ubisoft. It was released for the Nintendo DS in November 2009, and for the iOS operating system in January 2010. Part of the Assassin's Creed series, it is a spin-off to Assassin's Creed II and is set during that game's events, between Sequences 12 and 13. The story takes place from 1491 to 1492, and follows Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he travels to Spain to help his fellow Assassins, who are being hunted by the Templar Order under the guise of the Spanish Inquisition.
Assassin's Creed: Lineage is a series of three Canadian short films based on the Assassin's Creed video game series, directed by Yves Simoneau. The films are made by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with Hybride Technology, and mark Ubisoft's first attempt to step into the film industry. The three short films were released on YouTube to promote Assassin's Creed II, to which they serve as a prequel, describing the history of Ezio Auditore da Firenze and his family before the events of the game. The films primarily revolve around Ezio's father Giovanni, an Assassin from 15th-century Florence, and his investigation of the mysterious murder of the Duke of Milan, which leads him to confront a larger conspiracy.
Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a fictional character in the video game series Assassin's Creed, an Italian master assassin who serves as the protagonist of the series' games set during the Italian Renaissance. His life and career as an assassin are chronicled in Assassin's Creed II, II: Discovery, Brotherhood, and Revelations, and the short films Assassin's Creed: Lineage and Assassin's Creed Embers. All games and films he appears in were re-released as an enhanced bundle, The Ezio Collection, in 2016. Ezio has also been frequently referenced or made smaller appearances in other media within the franchise. Actor Roger Craig Smith has consistently provided the character's voice throughout his appearances, while Devon Bostick portrayed him in live-action in Lineage.
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad is a fictional character in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed video game series, a Syrian master assassin who serves as the protagonist of the games set in the late 12th and early 13th century. He first appears as the main playable character of the original Assassin's Creed game, which takes place during the Third Crusade in 1191. His later appearances include the spin-offs Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles and Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, and the sequels Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a 2010 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the third major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and the second chapter in the "Ezio Trilogy", as a direct sequel to 2009's Assassin's Creed II. The game was first released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November and December 2010 and was later made available on Microsoft Windows in March and June 2011. A remastered version of Brotherhood, along with Assassins's Creed II and its sequel, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, was released as part of The Ezio Collection compilation for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 15, 2016, and for the Nintendo Switch on February 17, 2022.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the fourth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and a direct sequel to 2010's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, concluding the "Ezio Trilogy". The game was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows in November and December 2011. A remastered version of Revelations, along with Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood, was released as part of The Ezio Collection compilation for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 15, 2016, and for the Nintendo Switch on February 17, 2022.
Assassin's Creed: Embers is a 2011 Canadian animated short film created by UbiWorkshop, based on the Assassin's Creed video game franchise. It serves as a conclusion to the story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the protagonist of Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations, who has also featured in several other works. Taking place in 1524, twelve years after the events of Revelations, the film depicts an elderly Ezio living a peaceful life with his family in rural Tuscany after retiring from the Assassin Order, until the appearance of a mysterious Assassin threatens to put his family in danger.
The Assassin's Creed series, by Anton Gill, Andrew Holmes, Christie Golden, Matthew J. Kirby and Gordon Doherty is a collection of novels set within the Assassin's Creed video game universe. The books are set across various time periods and, like the games, revolve around the secret war fought for centuries between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order. Most of the novels are direct adaptations of one of the games, with several added or slightly modified elements.
Bernardo Bandini Baroncelli was an Italian merchant and one of the instigators of the Pazzi conspiracy.
Jacopo de' Pazzi became head of the Pazzi in 1464. He, his nephew Francesco, and his brother Renato were executed after the Pazzi conspiracy on 26 April 1478.
