This may be a little out of the RPG element (maybe, maybe not. Not sure) But I suggest the Assassin's Creed Series.
I totally agree. I am in the last stages of Assassin's Creed 2, and I haven't had that kind of genuine feel for a recreated historic environment in any other game. They have got almost everything spot on; the environment and characters of renaissance Italy, the storyline, the finely tuned sense of humour balancing between the cynical and the whimsical. The fact that it probably isn't a genuine RPG (your decisions never actually affect the main storyline) shouldn't be held against it.
After reading about all the negative responses to the first Assassin's Creed, I never bothered to try it out, but started directly with Assassin's Creed 2. I doesn't feel like I've missed out on anything of importance for the enjoyment of the later game, although it's of course hard to say for sure.
