Inhabitants in 1991: 4.185
The
municipal territory of Sorano extends for 174,60 square kilometres in
a hilly zone at the eastern extreme of the Grosseto province. Dominion
of the Aldobrandeschi and the Orsini, it originally comprised, within
its borders fixed by the Lorenese reform of 1789, the districts of
Catabbio and San Martino, aggregated from 1928 to the municipality of
Manciano.
Originally an Etruscan locality, there was news of a “fortress”
of Sorano in 1172, through a stipulation document between the Counts
Giacomo and Ranieri di Bartolomeo, pertinent to a local family of Lords,
subsequently tied by vassal bonds to the Aldobrandesca dynasty. In 1210
Emperor Ottone IV confirmed to Ildebrandino degli Aldobrandeschi the
possession of the territory already dominated by Ranieri di Bartolomeo
and comprising among other things, the castle of Sorano. Assigned to the
Sovana branch of the Aldobrandeschi by the acts of division of the county
in 1216 and 1274 , Sorano passed, by lineage, in 1293 to the Orsini.
Together with the nearby castle of Pitigliano, to whose rise in was constantly
tied, it became a point of strength for the Roman family in both the 1416-17
war and that of 1454, when it was repeatedly assaulted by the Siena troops.
It remained under the dominion of the Orsini, even if with changing sequences,
until in 1608 when it was incorporated definitively in the Grand Duchy
of Toscana. Among the historically interesting localities, other that
the castles of Montorio, Montebuono, Montevitozzo and Castell’Ottieri,
particular interest surrounds Sovana, noted for being the birthplace of
Pope Gregorio VII (1020-1085) protagonist in the fore front of the
political and religious life of its era. Sovana, an Etruscan centre in
VII-VI centuries B.C., became an important Roman settlement from the middle
of the III century B.C. It was municipality then Episcopal Seat, then
in VIII century centre of a Longobardo territorial district. Between
the X and XIII centuries, it maintained its importance under the dominion
of the Aldobrandeschi, a branch of which had received from Sovana itself
the specific title of Aldobrandeschi di Sovana. It passed in 1295 to the
Orsini and, from 1410 under the dominion of Siena successively declined,
losing in 1660, the Episcopal Seat. All the subsequent attempts to revitalise
the area were in vain, except that of the repopulation effected in the
1400s by the Siena republic through the false hope of fiscal concessions
of various genre put into operation in the 1700s by the Lorena with the
construction of drainage canals, sewers and aqueducts and with the repairing
of the ancient centre. During the Liberation struggle the Sorano territory
was the theatre of intense partisan activity.
Places to visit: The Fortress, imposing construction
from 1552, it is a significant example of renaissance military architecture.
S. Nicola, collegiate which preserves in its interior a precious
S. Giuseppe. |
Historical info reproduced upon authorization of Regione Toscana - Dipartimento della Presidenza E Affari Legislativi e Giuridici
Translated by Ann Mountford |