Locations

The player moves through various Italian cities in the game: they start in Florence and head to Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Forlì and then Venice where they discover that Rodrigo Borgia (the Spanish Pope) has the highly powerful Fruit of Eden in Vatican City. The reconstructions of the locations do justice to the immense treasure trove that is Italy’s historical and artistic heritage; as in all chapters in the series, the highly detailed graphics make up for the historical inaccuracies, which nonetheless do not negatively affect the player’s experience (for example the fact that Savonarola lives in Palazzo Pitti, which has no basis in history). In Florence the player can carry out their own missions, passing through Piazza della Signoria, a place sadly known for being the location of public executions. Also worth mentioning are the various details on the Church of Santa Maria Novella and its piazza, the low-slung arches supporting one of the centres of Florentine life in the 15th century, the Ponte Vecchio (although the game features structures that were added to the bridge a lot later), and finally the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flower, the tallest building in the entire game. There are other historical inaccuracies (like the absence of the Baptistery of Saint John, which dates back to an era preceding that in which the video game is set), but they do not negatively impact the beauty of the most famous art cities of the Renaissance.
The level of detail is just as incredible in Venice, where the player can move around through the narrow streets, across its piers, in its gondolas and through the main places of historical and artistic interest. Among the most famous features reconstructed in the game are St. Mark’s Basilica, which can be explored both inside, with its precious decorations from different parts of the East, and outside, even climbing up on the domes. There is one inaccuracy in the reconstruction, namely the absence of the four bronze horses on the main façade of the Basilica. Right next to the church is the Doge’s Palace, which can be explored inside at just one point in the game (you get inside using one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s machines) and finally the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, with its tall scalable tower. Last but not least, a lot of detail has been put into reconstructing the traditional Venice Carnival, with a keen focus on the city’s folklore.
In Forlì the player can explore the town with its imposing walls and tour the surrounding area too. In San Gimignano the player can climb the Torre del Diavolo. Villa Auditore is not actually in Monteriggioni (SI), although the mayor has said that there is a very similar villa not far from the town’s walls (those featured in the game). The piazza and the church of Santa Maria Assunta, which is actually just inside the town, are in the east of the town in the game.
During the final mission the player is led through some of the streets of Rome, a city which can be explored more thoroughly in the next chapter in the series.