Il Vecchio (c. 1471-18 June 1545) was a soldier of the Republic of Venice who fought in the Turco-Venetian Wars. He lost his left arm at the Battle of Zonchio.
Biography[]
Il Vecchio was born around 1471 in Dalmatia (present-day Croatia), a region of the Republic of Venice. Il Vecchio's early life is unknown, but it is known that at some point he joined the Assassin Order. He also joined the Venetian Navy, staying low in the ranks to make sure that he was not famous. During the 1499 Battle of Zonchio, he killed a Venetian captain when he led the looting of an Ottoman Empire ship, as the captain was an affiliate of the Templar Order. He lost his left arm while fighting against the Ottomans on the deck of the vessel, and barely survived by jumping overboard. Il Vecchio swam to Greece and journeyed to Mount Olympus, where he met some of the Greek Assassins. Il Vecchio received advanced training as a member of the Greek Assassins and returned to Venice in 1511. Il Vecchio became a trainer for the Assassins in the city, and trained several members of the order for fighting the Templars. Unfortunately, many of his recruits were killed, and he went into semi-retirement. Things changed when he met Ezio Auditore da Firenze in 1515 in Florence. Ezio was also a retired Assassin, and he told Il Vecchio stories about his adventures in Florence, Venice, Tuscany, Romagna, Rome, Spain, and Istanbul. Il Vecchio was inspired by his journeys and agreed to train his son Marcello Auditore when he came of age. Il Vecchio lived in Venice for twenty years alone, until he met Marcello.
Il Vecchio was initially disappointed that Marcello knew little of his father's life as an Assassin, and Il Vecchio told Marcello all of his adventures. He trained Marcello in the ways of the Assassins and taught him to become like his father, learning all of his combat moves. Il Vecchio molded him into a new Assassin, and in 1537 he felt that he was ready to fight. He introduced him to Lorenzino de Medici, the Mentor of the Italian Assassins, and Marcello and Lorenzino assassinated Alessandro de Medici on 6 January. The two of them left for the Auditore Villa in Tuscany to avoid being arrested for Alessandro's murder, while Lorenzino fled to Venice. Il Vecchio helped Marcello kill public servant Mario Corrado and rebuild the Venetian Assassins, and he died in 1545, by which point Marcello was already a powerful Assassin mentor.