In Assassin's Creed II, which Renaissance artist helps Ezio Auditore by building his flying machine?

Leonardo da Vinci helps Ezio Auditore by building a flying machine in Assassin's Creed II.

Leonardo is portrayed as Ezio's friend, inventor, and technical ally. He deciphers pages from Altaïr's Codex and applies their designs to weapons and devices. His flying machine enables Ezio to cross Venice during a major mission, making the sequence one of the game's most recognizable set pieces.

The historical Leonardo did study flight and produced sketches of flying machines, although the game dramatizes the technology and its use. Leonardo's workshop scenes also reflect his documented interests in engineering, anatomy, painting, and mechanics. He appears throughout the Italian campaign, while other Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Botticelli are referenced or represented in different ways but do not fill his inventor role.