Art and Society: Early Christian to Early Modern

New Technologies, 3: Assassin's Creed II: Art History, Simulation, and the Re-Creation of the Past

At the start of the video game, Assassin's Creed, there is a disclaimer that states:

Inspired by historical events and characters, this work of fiction was designed, developed and produced by a multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs.

Assassin's Creed II is partially set in Florence, Italy in the late fifteenth, early sixteenth century and is loosely based on the rivalry between two powerful families in the city, the Medici and the Pazzi.  Various Florentine monuments serve not only as backdrops for action, but also as seemingly realistic environments that bolster the historical fiction developed in the game.

For this assignment, you will need to explore the accuracy of the Assassin's Creed II reconstruction of either Santa Maria del Fiore (also known as the Duomo or Cathedral of Florence) or Santa Maria Novella.  You have examined both of these monuments in class, in your readings, and in video clips.  The following video taken from Assassin Creed II presents these churches as well as other monuments in Florence.

In addition to that video, you will need to do additional research on line - using both stills of the monuments as represented in Assassin's Creed II and photographs or reconstructions of the actual structures.  Consider especially that the game takes place during the Renaissance (late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries).  Was your focus structure complete at that time or has it been changed in subsequent centuries?  If you like, you can expand your analysis to include also the square in front of the church and the surrounding structures. 

Douglas N. Dow, "Historical Veneers: Anachronism, Simulation, and Art History in Assassin's Creed II," in Playing with the Past: Digital Games and the Simulation of History, ed. by Matthew Wilhelm Kapell and Andrew B.R. Elliott (New York: Bloomsbury, 2013).

Assignment length: you should compare and contrast the monument/Assassin's Creed recreation in a text that is at least one full page, typed double spaced.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar