The Villa Salviati is a large villa situated in Tuscany, Italy which was home to Archbishop Francesco Salviati of Pisa, one of the Pazzi conspirators and member of the Roman Rite of the Templar Order. He was killed there in 1479 by Monteriggionesi forces led by Ezio Auditore da Firenze in revenge for the schemes of Salviati and his accomplices.
History[]
Located near Florence and San Gimignano, the villa did not originally belong to the individual who would become its namesake, Francesco Salviati, but the priest purchased it in 1475 with his vast wealth in anticipation of becoming the Archbishop of Florence. Over the next few years, Salviati had it renovated in the Tuscan style all while plotting with the Pazzi family to invade Florence. This left him very little time to enjoy it before his demise.[1]
After the Pazzi conspiracy failed in 1478, Salviati made a successful escape to his villa, having swapped his archbishop attire with one of the residents of Florence, who was lynched in his place. There, he would lurk for the next year, fortifying his villa to defend against retaliation for their assassination of Giuliano de' Medici.[1]
Despite his ruse, the Assassins, sworn enemies of the Templars were not fooled and knew of his survival. Led by Mario Auditore from Monteriggioni, they hunted the surviving conspirators one by one for their role.[2][3] By 12 April 1479, they had discovered that Salviati had barricaded himself within his villa. Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the son of Assassin Giovanni, took command of the Monteriggionesi mercenaries that night and launched a direct assault as a diversion while he scaled the walls from behind. Salviati spotted his assassin the moment he entered the courtyard but was unable to stop him from opening the gates for the Monteriggionesi. As enemies flooded in, the engagement reached its climax during which Salviati was personally slain by Ezio.[4]
Trivia[]
- In Assassin's Creed: Embers, a portion of the Villa Salviati was used to model Ezio's villa.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed II – Database: Villa Salviati
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Evasive Maneuvers
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Town Crier
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Behind Closed Doors