Among Assassin’s Creed 2‘s historical recreations of buildings and landmarks of Venice, the Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto is one of the best. Located in the San Polo District of Venice, Italy, the Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto is one of the locations in Assassin’s Creed 2 that is as close to the real-world equivalent as it can get. Besides being a location players can visit, the church has a significant part in the narrative of Assassin’s Creed 2.
Developed by Ubisoft Montréal and released in 2009, Assassin’s Creed 2 is set during the Italian Renaissance in the late 15 century. While Assassin’s Creed 2 played similarly to the first game, it would be one of the most defining titles that led to a number of Assassin’s Creed games about the story of Ezio, the main protagonist. The game would also start many features and gameplay mechanics that would appear in future Assassin’s Creed games like a focus on melee combat, a more nuanced Eagle Vision, and even a type of economic system that allows players to gain income passively.
While Assassin’s Creed 2 elevated the gameplay and narrative of the series, the game’s relatively faithful recreation of Venice does heavy lifting in both departments. During sequence nine, titled “Carnevale,” the player must navigate Venice to complete a series of missions. Not only do historical figures in Assassin’s Creed 2 enrich the narrative, but Venetian architecture like the Squero di San Trovaso, a small square used as a boatyard, has significance in the story as well.
How The Chiesa Di San Giacomo Di Rialto Fits Into the Assassin’s Creed 2 Story
Among the hundreds of churches in Venice, the Chiesa Di San Giacomo Di Rialto is one of the oldest, possibly dating to 421. Despite its age, the church has a degree of connection to the city’s market, as explained by tour.venezia.it. An inscription on the building reminds merchants to be honest in handling their goods and contracts. Moreover, the Chiesa Di San Giacomo Di Rialto has an air of mystery, from its bell-gable tower to one of the city’s last Gothic porticoes.
The location in-game contains a glyph, which are historical leftovers from humanity’s true history and the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. The glyph also hints at how old the Assassin Brotherhood is, with an inscription stating, “The death of all tyrants will set the people free,” and a map of assassinations of prominent figures in history. The Chiesa Di San Giacomo Di Rialto inscription to be an “honest merchant” could have acted as inspiration for the glyph, fictionally asking “tyrants” to be honest or suffer the consequences. Moreover, considering that the Church and the Templar Order are essentially the same, the Chiesa Di San Giacomo Di Rialto possibly underlines the watchful eye of the Templars in plain sight while suggesting possible timelines in some of the coolest settings in Assassin’s Creed.
Assassin’s Creed 2 not only expanded the series to higher, more history-rich heights, but its amount of detail in featured landmarks is one of the best in the series. A perfect example of this is the duality of the Chiesa Di San Giacomo Di Rialto and the church’s impact on the narrative and the world-building of the game. Assassin’s Creed 2‘s version of one of the oldest churches in Venice is a testament to the importance of narrative and creating or utilizing real-world locations to tell a compelling story.
