Turns out Nico is a nickname for Niccolo Machiavelli, I was mindblown.
shareThe reancarnation of the original Zoroaster (Zarathustra) of course . Or the (by that time two thousand year old) original Zoroaster himself. And than it will turn out he actually wrote the Book of Leaves....
shareHe is Tommaso Masini,AKA Zoroaster da Peretola.
He was a friend and collaborator of Leonardo Da Vinci.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso_Masini
Cosmos hates Google.
It didn't "turn out" Nico was Niccolo Machiavelli, they didn't hide it. He's been listed as "Nico Machiavelli" on nearly every cast list for the show since it began.
shareIn the series they hide it.
It was a climactic scene, who Nico really was.
Only those who are really into tv-news, searching boards, wikipedia etc. knew.
Anyway Zoroaster is supposed to be who I said. No mystery here.
Cosmos hates Google.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster's ideas led to a formal religion bearing his name by about the 6th century BCE and have influenced other later religions including Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity and Islam.
I believe it is a play of religion, pure intellect and philosophy.