In Assassin's Creed II, which Italian assassin becomes the game's central playable character?

In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio Auditore da Firenze becomes the game's central playable character.

Ezio is introduced as a young Florentine nobleman whose life changes after his father and brothers are executed. He then joins the Assassin Brotherhood and spends the game pursuing those responsible while uncovering a larger Templar conspiracy. His story begins in Renaissance Italy and includes locations such as Florence, Monteriggioni, Venice, and the Vatican.

Ezio is not the protagonist of the first Assassin's Creed, whose playable assassin is Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. He also differs from Connor Kenway and Edward Kenway, who lead later games set in colonial America and the Golden Age of Piracy. Ezio's story continues in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations, making him one of the series' most prominent recurring characters.

The name “Auditore da Firenze” identifies Ezio's family and literally connects him with Florence, the city central to his early story.