A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates credit.[1]
History[]
15th century[]
In Renaissance Italy, many minor noble families owned banks throughout the cities of Florence, San Gimignano, Forlì, and Venice, though most were controlled by the House of Pazzi, who covetously kept their hold on the cities' financial power by posting guards outside the buildings.[2] Perhaps the sole exception to this was the Auditore International Bank, a family-run business owned and operated by the Italian Assassin Giovanni Auditore that primarily provided loans to the various kingdoms of Germania.[3] Up until 1476,[4] both Giovanni's elder sons Federico and Ezio were in training to follow their ancestors and become bankers, with Federico apprenticing under a House of Medici bank before his pranks removed him from the payroll[5] while Ezio learned from their father's co-worker Giovanni Tornabuoni.[6] While most banks, Giovanni's included, primarily contained florins from public accounts, a select few guarded by the House of Borgia also contained Codex pages, which Ezio took to the polymath Leonardo da Vinci to decode.[2]
The town of Monteriggioni also possessed a bank that provided additional income for Ezio while he renovated the place. The excess funds were stored in a chest in the restored Villa Auditore and could be used to further improve the community.[2] The bank was later destroyed in January 1500 during the Siege of Monteriggioni led by Cesare Borgia.[7]
16th century[]
In the 16th century, there were ten banks scattered throughout Rome's districts. Once renovated as part of Ezio's plan to break the Borgia's power over the city, they would boost the amount of income generated in a neighborhood. This in turn would increase their vaults' limit, up to 80,000 florins.[8]
Constantinople contained sixteen banks, which acted similarly to the ones in Rome, and had a larger limit of 120,000 akçe. Additionally, they could provide Ezio with money and bomb ingredients earned from other cities.[9]
21st century[]
By 2012, Monteriggioni's bank had been rebuilt and re-established, with construction completed in 1802, and it was the only building that retained its purpose in the half millennium since the Renaissance.[10]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed II (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
- Assassin's Creed: Templars
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)
References[]
- ↑ Bank on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Assassin's Creed II
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Renaissance – Chapter 2
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Last Man Standing
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Database: Federico Auditore
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Database: Ezio Auditore
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Vilified
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Modern day