| Sapienza | |
|---|---|
| Hitman location | |
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:SapienzaHitman.png) A panoramic view of Sapienza as seen in Hitman (2016). | |
| First appearance | Hitman - Episode 2: Sapienza (2016) |
| Last appearance | Hitman 3 (2021) |
| Created by | Torbjørn Christensen |
| Genre | Stealth |
| In-universe information | |
| Location | Italy |
| Characters | Silvio Caruso Francesca De Santis Dr. Oscar Lafayette Sal Falcone |
Sapienza is a fictional Italian town from IO Interactive's Hitman video game franchise. First appearing in Episode 2: Sapienza of the 2016 video game Hitman, Sapienza was modeled after the Ligurian comune Vernazza as well as various towns along the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy, and is similarly presented as a popular tourist destination like its real life counterparts. The levels of Hitman were originally released in episodic format, with Episode 2: Sapienza following Episode 1: Paris. In Episode 2, the player character Agent 47 travels to Sapienza in order to terminate a deadly biological weapon and its creator. Players may take advantage of "Opportunities", story driven threads scattered around the level that 47 can use to manipulate and kill targets. The sparsely populated town's peaceful environment and relaxed "siesta" ambience is intended to offer freedom of exploration, a deliberate choice to let players discover at their own pace weapons, secret routes and story threads that they could leverage in order to achieve the main objectives. Sapienza reappears in further levels which were subsequently introduced by Hitman developers, such as the bonus episode "The Icon", where the town center is reimagined as a movie set run by an assassination target.
Episode 2 and its Sapienza level is often cited as the standard against which subsequent Hitman episodes from the World of Assassination trilogy of Hitman video games released between 2016 and 2021 are compared to, as well as one of the best video game levels from the 2010s. The fictional town of Sapienza itself has been lauded by critics for its intricate and inventive design. The positive reception from critics and players towards Episode 2: Sapienza convinced its developers that their approach towards sandbox game design for the series as well as overall handling of the Hitman franchise were headed in the appropriate creative direction.