Venetian Falchion

The Venetian falchion was a one-handed, single-edged falchion of Venetian origin that saw widespread production and service in Italy during the Renaissance. Among the blacksmiths that sold the weapon in that era were those who operated shops in the cities of Florence, Monteriggioni, Forlì, San Gimignano, Venice, and Rome. Because of its prevalence, it was utilized by various guards of these cities, and the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze purchased two of these in his lifetime, once for his weapons room at the Villa Auditore and again for the Assassin Tiber Island hideout in Rome during his campaign to liberate the city from Templar control.Assassin's Creed IIAssassin's Creed: Brotherhood
==Description==
As a falchion, the Venetian falchion was a single-edged sword with a moderate curve meant to be wielded with one hand. Its blade, however, was not quite as broad as other falchions, such as the Straight Falchion or the Dented Falchion, which are more reminiscent of machetes and cleavers.Assassin's Creed: Unity Instead, it was lightweight and lacked the power of other contemporary swords of Italy, and it was stylistically more akin to that of sabers. Despite ranking among the weakest swords of Renaissance Italy, being no deadlier than the antique old Syrian sabre or common sword, the Venetian falchion boasted relative swiftness thanks to its light weight and small design. Even so, this did not fully compensate for its deficiencies, as its thin blade also afforded little protection in combat. In this, it contrasted with its Florentine cousin, the Florentine falchion, which possessed a heavier and bulkier blade far better suited to parrying.
Roman blacksmiths in the first decade of the 16th century greatly refined the craftsmanship of the Venetian falchion, simultaneously reinforcing the blade while reducing its weight even further. As a result, it became one of the highest quality swords in Rome despite retaining its weak power; the agility and defense of the blade was rivaled only by the similarly refined Florentine falchion and specially crafted swords such as La Volpe's Bite and the Sword of Altaïr.
The Venetian falchion bore a golden pommel and crossguard that elegantly curved upwards in the rear side while diverging into two branches in the front, both of which curved outwards. Its thin blade was only very slightly curved, running entirely straight for the majority of its profile before tilting upwards at the tip.
==History==
Though of Venetian design, the Venetian falchions were regularly sold by blacksmith shops not just in Venice but all throughout Italy during the Renaissance in cities such as Florence, Monteriggioni, Forlì, San Gimignano, and Rome. The weapon saw service among the guards of these cities and in the Borgia military. The Italian Brotherhood of Assassins, too, employed the saber, with Ezio Auditore da Firenze purchasing one for the weapons room of his home in Monteriggioni, the Villa Auditore, sometime between 1477 and 1499. In 1503, during his operations in Rome to liberate the city from Templar and Borgia dominance, he purchased another Venetian falchion for the Assassins' base on Tiber Island.
==Weapon statistics==
Era 	Damage	Speed	Deflect	Cost 	Availability
15th century Italy	1 	3 	1 	1,900ƒ	Sequence 3
16th century Rome 	1 	5 	5 	5,700ƒ	Sequence 5
==References==
ru:Венецианский палаш
Category:Swords
Category:Falchions
Category:15th century weapons
Category:16th century weapons