Fiamma Nera

The Fiamma Nera are a dangerous Italian cult full of skilled henchmen and are the primary antagonist group in Tomb Raider II. Their primary objective is to collect all the artifacts related to the Dagger of Xian and use it for their own personal and twisted reasons. They work under the orders of Marco Bartoli and will try to stop Lara from progressing any further.

Background information
The Fiamma Nera was a secret cult that has remained in the shadows and carried out terrible acts for centuries in Italy. They are the seekers of the Dagger of Xian and worship the powers it possesses. The cult even adopted the mystical symbol as their logo which was previously used by former user of the dagger, Dragon Emperor. In the 20th Century, Gianni Bartoli became leader of the Fiamma Nera. Gianni had attempted to seek out the mythical Dagger of Xian, as all those before him had done. In searching for the artifact needed to unlock the dagger's resting place, the Fiamma Nera managed to steal the Seraph from the Barkhang Monastery and brought it along their luxury ship, the Maria Doria. The Barkhang Monks, fearing that the Dagger of Xian would fall into the Fiamma Nera's hands, destroyed the Maria Doria and killed everyone on board including Gianni. Years later, Gianni's son Marco Bartoli follows in his father's footsteps and stakes out for the Dagger of Xian, leading to the events of Tomb Raider II.

The Fiamma Nera cult members are skilled mercenaries that are skilled in a wide variety of combat. They have a religious following for the group and usually wear some sort of tattoo or clothing that shows their affiliation with the group. They attack using different forms of combat and weapons. Some of the members prefer to use clubs, while others attack using shotguns and machine guns. An even more specialized version of cult members appear in Floating Islands and The Dragon's Lair, where they wear ceremonial robes and throw an endless barrage of knives. The cult members are also prepared for different environments and conditions, like delving into the ocean or battling in the cold weather. Bartoli's men are present in many levels of the game, such as Venice, and Tibet.

The Fiamma Nera members carry melee weapons and guns. In Venice, their members carrying bats and silenced pistols. In the Offshore Rig and Maria Doria, there's scuba divers that swim in the water that attack Lara with Harpoon Guns, more members except with crowbars, wrenches, and SMGs, as well as shotguns and flamethrower guys. In Tibet, there's members driving snowmobiles with automated guns, and smaller SMG guns. There's also one tough Fiamma Nera gang member that wields two heavy damaging pistols and cannot be killed easily.

Notable Members

 * Marco Bartoli (second leader)
 * Gianni Bartoli (first leader)
 * Claudio
 * Fabio
 * Eros

Tomb Raider II: Starring Lara Croft

 * Venice
 * Bartoli's Hideout
 * Opera House
 * Offshore Rig
 * Diving Area
 * 40 Fathoms
 * Wreck of the Maria Doria
 * Living Quarters
 * The Deck
 * Tibetan Foothills
 * Barkhang Monastery
 * Catacombs of the Talion
 * Floating Islands
 * The Dragon's Lair
 * Home, Sweet Home (All Deaths)

Tomb Raider II: Golden Mask

 * Nightmare in Vegas

Development
The masked Fiamma Nera enemies with blond hair originally wore long sleeved shirts bearing red Fiamma Nera symbols and a band on their upper arm as opposed to the white t-shirts they wore in the final version.

The Fiamma Nera rig workers wielding shotguns originally wore khaki coloured trousers before they were changed to beige for reasons unknown. The only remains of these khaki trousered enemies is a dead body of one of them in the cutscene where Lara meets Brother Chan Barkhang. It is also evident from one of the screenshots below that this shotgun wielding enemy was to appear in The Deck before being replaced by flamethrower wielding enemies.

Also, a Fiamma Nera melee henchmen was at one point different. They are the ones who wear caps in the Maria Doria levels. In an earlier version, they wore white vests and wielded wrenches. In the final version, however, they wore white t-shirts and wielded clubs.

In Tibetan Foothills, the uzi wielding mercenaries were to appear but were eventually held back until Barkhang Monastery and replaced by mercenaries identical to the blue-clad ones but with a different color scheme.

Trivia

 * While most enemies in Tomb Raider II: Golden Mask are from A.V.A.L.A.N.C.H.E. group, Fiemma Nera cultist appear in the Furnace of the Gods and Nightmare in Vegas level.

Appearances

 * Tomb Raider II: Starring Lara Croft (First appearance)
 * Tomb Raider II: Golden Mask