Florence is Ezio Auditore's birthplace and an early major setting in Assassin's Creed II.
The game opens in Florence in 1476, where Ezio is introduced as a young nobleman. The city provides the setting for his family life, his first encounters with political danger, and the beginning of his transformation into an Assassin.
Florence was a major center of Renaissance culture and finance. The game includes recognizable landmarks and figures associated with the period, including the Medici family and Leonardo da Vinci, although its story combines documented history with fiction.
Players later travel to other Italian locations, especially Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Forlì, and Venice. This range can cause confusion, but Florence is specifically Ezio's birthplace and the location of the opening sequence.