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The Colosseum, known also as the Anfiteatro Flavio, is one of the most famous landmarks of Rome. It contained one of the Lairs of Romulus, and was one of the locations on which Clay Kaczmarek inscribed a Rift.

During the Borgia family's rule over Rome, the Colosseum had become dilapidated.

History[]

Early history and destruction[]

The construction of the Colosseum began in 72 during the reign of Roman Emperor Titus, and finished in 80. At its height, the Colosseum was able to hold up to 50,000 spectators and was considered one of the greatest architectural achievements in Roman history.[1] It remained relatively intact for several centuries after the Empire fell and served a number of different purposes during the Middle Ages, at one point even being converted into a fortress by one of Rome's noble families.

In 1349, however, a massive earthquake struck Rome, which caused irreparable damage to the theater. As a result, the Colosseum was then left to ruin, and by the 16th century, it became a lair for the Followers of Romulus.[1]

Renaissance[]

Liberation of Rome[]

In 1500, the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze ventured to the lower levels of the Colosseum to uncover the conspiracy surrounding the Followers of Romulus and to continue his search for the shrines to Romulus.[2]

Upon arriving, Ezio made his way through a decrepit corridor, and then encountered an individual sitting on a chair. As he reached out to him, the man flung his chair across the room and revealed himself to be a Follower of Romulus, swiping his dagger at Ezio. Just then, a voice bellowed from a raised platform further down the corridor, and a leader dressed in a jubilee costume ordered a group of followers to kill Ezio.[2]

Thrown to the Wolves 1

The Colosseum's lower levels

Defeating the attackers, Ezio confronted the individual who had ordered his death. The man denied Ezio's demand for answers, and fled through a section of the Colosseum, eventually arriving at a crowded Jubilee. Upon discovering the leader hidden amongst the crowd, Ezio chased him to another large corridor.[2]

Jumping on a horse, the leader made another attempt at escape but was soon followed by Ezio, who commandeered a horse of his own. After a short chase sequence, the pair eventually arrived at another room filled with Followers of Romulus. Ezio defeated his attackers and assassinated the leader. Performing a Leap of Faith, Ezio arrived at Juno's Temple and entered the shrine to Romulus, claiming a Scroll of Romulus and one of the keys to the Armor of Brutus. He then left the temple and returned to Rome.[2]

Around 1501, Ezio's fellow Assassin Niccolò Machiavelli sent Lo Sparviero to investigate the Colosseum after being alerted to various strange happenings. Discovering the Crows being involved and boxes full of Corview blades, the Assassin chased the one of the Crows' leaders Matteo Favero to the top of the Colosseum and eliminated him.[3]

Passion play[]

Intervention 2

The Colosseum's 1503 passion play

By 1503, the Colosseum was used as a place where a play detailing Jesus Christ's crucifixion was held, with crosses displayed for the use of actors. Cesare Borgia's personal assassin Micheletto Corella attended the play disguised as one of the actors, in an attempt to kill the latest lover of Cesare's sister, Pietro Rossi, on orders by Cesare himself. However, the plan was foiled when Ezio Auditore also disguised himself and his Assassin apprentices as actors, to which they caused a riot in the arena. Once Micheletto was defeated and Pietro saved, a group of mercenaries sent by Niccolò appeared to help Ezio to escape.[2]

Some time after, in an attempt to regain power over Rome after his father's death, Cesare Borgia called a meeting of some cardinals inside the Colosseum. However, on their arrival, the cardinals informed him that they had decided to elect Guiliano della Rovere to the Papacy. The meeting was then cut short when Ezio Auditore used his Apple of Eden to further weaken Cesare's support.[2]

A year before Cesare Borgia's death in Viana, in 1506, Ezio hid the Apple of Eden in a Vault underneath the Colosseum.[2]

During the War of the League of Cambrai, several fortifications were raised around and inside Rome. A detachment of the Papal Army was sent to build camp around the Colosseum in order to protect the southern part of the city and the ruins.[4]

In the mid 16th century, Pope Sixtus V crafted plans to use the remaining shells and convert it into a giant wool factory to provide employment to the city's prostitutes. However, he died in 1590 without his plans coming into fruition.[1][5]

Modern times[]

Retrieval 2

Desmond Miles and his allies at the Colosseum

In 2012, the modern-day Assassins discovered that Ezio's Piece of Eden was located somewhere near the Colosseum. After finding the password to open the vault below the ancient structure, Desmond and his allies hurried to the site.[2]

When the Assassins arrived, they realized that a reconstruction project had begun on the Colosseum, indicated by the number of cranes and additional structures within it. The area under the Colosseum, an underground location that previously housed gladiators and transported them up to the arena, had also been excavated. To gain access to the vault, Desmond traversed a maze of scaffolding, broken stone, and construction equipment.[2]

Upon Desmond's arrival, he began to encounter holographic apparitions of Juno, a figure from the First Civilization. Once he retrieved the Apple of Eden, Desmond's body was taken possession of by Juno, and he was forced to stab fellow Assassin Lucy Stillman, who secretly served as a Templar. Desmond subsequently fell into a coma.[2]

In 2016, the Colosseum was used to as a simulated location by Abstergo Entertainment for their Identity Project. Like most of the simulated locations in the Project, the Colosseum had two aesthetic variations, and as such, could be utilized during dawn or dusk.[6]

The simulation is set in the War of Cambrai League. In this simulation, the Colosseum had some planks that can climb, it seems under Renovation. The Arch of Constantine was surrounded by the fences and Borgia tents, in dawn, more Borgia tents around the Arch of Septimius Severus.[6]

Trivia[]

  • The Colosseum is elliptical (oval-shaped) in reality, but it was made circular for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, since devising shadows for different sides of the buildings would have "driven game designers nuts".
  • The Colosseum was one of the landmarks that Ezio could purchase after destroying the nearby Borgia Tower, being the most expensive one in Brotherhood.
  • There were many citizens on the upper levels of the Colosseum, although it is unknown as to how they managed to get up there. If any of the citizens were interrupted by Ezio, they would begin to freerun down to the lower levels.
  • The Colosseum could be seen from Castel Sant'Angelo in Assassin's Creed II, though it couldn't be visited.
  • During Desmond's visit to the landmark, the Colosseum appeared much larger than it did in Ezio's time. This is due to the fact that, in modern times, most, if not all, of the Colosseum's underground portions are unearthed.
  • When Desmond entered the Colosseum, he saw visions of Ezio's visit to the Lair of Romulus, fighting the Followers and chasing the leader on horseback.
  • The Colosseum was one of the territories that could be purchased in Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy.
  • In Assassin's Creed: Identity, the Colosseum can only be visited a part of it, the rest is blocked by the wall of the Memory Corridor.

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

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References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodDatabase: Colosseo
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  3. Assassin's Creed: IdentityA Storm of Crows
  4. Assassin's Creed: Identity
  5. Assassin's Creed: IdentityDatabase: Colosseo (Identity)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed: IdentityContracts

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