In Assassin's Creed II, the Florentine protagonist who becomes an Assassin is Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Ezio begins the story as a young nobleman in Florence during the Italian Renaissance. After his father and brothers are executed as part of a conspiracy, he is drawn into the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. His transformation is gradual: he learns combat, investigation, freerunning, and the use of the Hidden Blade before taking on the Assassin identity.
The game follows Ezio across several Italian locations, including Florence, Monteriggioni, Venice, and Forlì. Its story covers many years and establishes him as one of the series' most prominent recurring characters. He later appears in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations, which together form a trilogy centered on his life.
Ezio is sometimes confused with Altaïr, the protagonist of the first game, or with later heroes such as Connor and Arno. His full name, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, identifies both his given name and his Florentine family background.