Maria Auditore da Firenze

Maria Auditore da Firenze (née de' Mozzi; 1432 – 1504) was a Florentine noblewoman during the Renaissance and, alongside her husband Giovanni, a member of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins. She was also the mother of four children, one of whom–Ezio–would eventually become Mentor of the Italian Brotherhood.
Born into the noble Mozzi family, Maria liked to blend with "real citizens" when she was younger, which led to her meeting Giovanni Auditore, the man who would later become her husband. As a member of the Auditore family, Maria continued to fraternize with the lower classes, developing a working relationship with the artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Maria was traumatized by the execution of her husband and two of their children, Federico and Petruccio, in 1476, after which she slipped into a state of shock and refused to communicate until Ezio helped her recover years later. She would thereafter continue to support her son, as well as her daughter Claudia after she too joined the Brotherhood, until her eventual death from an illness in 1504. 
==Biography==
===Early life===
Born to the powerful and opulent Mozzi family of Florence, Maria's parents strongly protected her from the outside world. Resenting this control, the young Maria chose to actively fraternize with the lower classes in the city.Assassin's Creed II – Database: Maria Auditore (Assassin's Creed II)
Reluctantly, her parents eventually compromised with their daughter and allowed her to open up a bakery inside the family palazzo where, a week later, she met Giovanni Auditore. Wooed by Giovanni, the two developed a close relationship and eventually married in 1452.
===Life as an Auditore===
Now married, Maria went to live with Giovanni. Over time, Maria gave birth to four children: Federico, Ezio, Claudia, and Petruccio Auditore.Assassin's Creed II
During the early years of their marriage, Giovanni was inducted into the Assassin Order and required Maria to help him keep the secret from their children. Sometime thereafter, Maria herself was inducted into the Order.Assassin's Creed: Lineage
In 1476, Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio were arrested by the Florentine government on false charges of treason. When she protested, she was assaulted by the city guards and slipped into a state of shock as a result.Assassin's Creed II – Jailbird
The three were tried and hanged, despite her remaining son's attempt to prevent their deaths.Assassin's Creed II – Last Man Standing Maria, who had not spoken since the arrest, was brought to her fellow Assassin, Paola, alongside Claudia, by their family's servant and Paola's sister, Annetta.Assassin's Creed II – Fitting In She remained there for a while until Ezio returned to take them to the home of her brother-in-law, Mario Auditore, in Monteriggioni.Assassin's Creed II – Roadside Assistance
While there, Maria remained silently sitting in prayer beside her bed for several years,Assassin's Creed II – Practice Makes Perfect not speaking until Ezio brought her a hundred feathers in the memory of Petruccio. Thanking Ezio for not forgetting about her, Maria hugged him and presented him with a cape bearing the Auditore coat of arms.Assassin's Creed II – Floating conversations Afterward, Maria's temperament began to improve.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
===Later life in Rome ===
In January 1500, after Ezio returned from his confrontation with the murderer of their family—Rodrigo Borgia—in Rome, Monteriggioni was besieged by the Papal forces under the command of Rodrigo's son, Cesare Borgia.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Vilified Maria fled to the sanctuary beneath the Villa, where she waited for Claudia and Ezio to join her. It was here that she learned of the execution of her brother-in-law by yet another Borgia.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Emergency Exit
From there, the three fled the town via a secret passageway built into the mound upon which the town rested. Ezio then instructed Maria and Claudia to return to Florence, where they would be safe, while Ezio would head to Rome to take down the entire Borgia family. As Ezio began to ride off, Maria encouraged him to wipe out the Borgia.
Returning to Florence, Maria and her daughter found the Palazzo Auditore burned to the ground. With nowhere else to go, the two decided to follow Ezio to Rome, where they felt that they would be better suited to do something to aid him.
Traveling to the Assassins' hideout on Tiber Island, Maria and Claudia met with the Order's acting-leader, Niccolò Machiavelli, who told them to look for Ezio at the Rosa in Fiore. When they arrived, Ezio was not there, so they spoke only to the resident courtesans as they waited for him. Shortly thereafter, Ezio returned with news that the brothel's Madame, Solari, had been killed by the Cento Occhi bandits.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – High-Stakes Negotiation
Maria's son was both shocked and angry to discover his family in Rome. His mood only worsened when, reminded by the courtesans that they could not continue without a Madame, Claudia volunteered for the task, much to Ezio's displeasure. With a role set for them, Maria helped Claudia in controlling and managing the brothel, instructing her son to aid the girls wherever he could. When the Rosa in Fiore was attacked by Borgia soldiers, Maria helped to defend the brothel and was guarded by several courtesans. Later, she expressed her relief that Claudia and Ezio had finally reconciled.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Paper Trail
By this time, Maria's health had slowly begun to decline, due mainly to a long-term illness she had been suffering from, to which she eventually succumbed in 1504, leaving both Ezio and Claudia devastated.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel – 
== Legacy ==
Due to the diaries she had kept up until the execution of her husband and sons in 1476, Maria became the most well-known member of the Auditore family to historians. The diaries were later translated and put on display in the Gallery in Florence.
==Personality and traits==
Maria had a loving and caring personality, which was shown when she prayed over Petruccio's feathers at Monteriggioni. She was also displayed as a rebellious figure, as in her early life, she was protected from the outside world, to which she grew tired of and possibly confronted her parents regarding the matter.
This too was shown when she tried to stop the guards from arresting Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio before being presumably raped. With this in mind, it could be said that she held a fierce love for her family, as her retaliation against the guards proved how willing she was to protect them.
She was also presented as someone willing to help her husband Giovanni keep secrets from their children about their Assassin heritage, to safeguard them from the potential dangers that came with it. As well as this, she also kept Giovanni informed about what happened in the family while Giovanni was on his missions, as displayed when Maria told him that their son Ezio was becoming suspicious of why he went out at night.
==Behind the scenes==
Maria Auditore is a character in Assassin's Creed II and the film Assassin's Creed: Lineage. She is voiced in-game by actor Ellen David, and portrayed in the film by Claudia Ferri.
==Trivia==
*Maria seemed to be a skilled surgeon, as she was seen stitching up Giovanni's near-fatal wound in Assassin's Creed: Lineage.
*Maria only spoke three times throughout Assassin's Creed II: once during Ezio's birth; in the memory "Friend of the Family"; and when given the 100 feathers.
*Maria could be seen praying for around 12 to 23 years since all of the locations that had feathers were not available until Sequence 11 of Assassin's Creed II, which took place in 1488.
*According to Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, Maria and Claudia lived in a convent after the execution of the Auditore until the late 1480s, when they moved to Monteriggioni.
==Gallery==
ACEncyclopedia-Maria Auditore.jpg|Concept art of Maria
AC2 DB Maria Auditore.png|Maria's database image
Friend 2 v.png|Maria talking with Ezio
AC2-MariaAuditore-praying.png|Maria praying in her room
Maria and Claudia in ACB.jpg|Maria and Claudia seeing Ezio off
AC2-featherbox.png|Maria's box of feathers at the Villa Auditore
AC2 Maria Auditore's Room.png|Maria's room at the Villa Auditore
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Lineage 
*Assassin's Creed II
*Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
*Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
*Assassin's Creed: Recollection
*Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
*Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China 
*Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR 
==References==
zh:玛丽亚·奥迪托雷
Category:1432 births
Category:1504 deaths
Category:Individuals
Category:Italians
Category:Florentines
Category:Writers
Category:Procurers
Category:Assassins
Category:Italian Assassins
Category:House of Auditore
Category:Ancestors of Desmond Miles
Category:Ancestors of Clay Kaczmarek
Category:Villa Auditore residents