Sorano is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto ( it, links=no, provincia di Grosseto) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Gro ...

, southern

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). It as an ancient medieval hill town hanging from a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

stone over the Lente River.

History

Sorano was probably inhabited by

Villanovan The Villanovan culture (c. 900–700 BC), regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfield ...

culture, but the first historical mentions are relative to the 3rd century BC, when it was an Etruscan city under the influence of the more populous nearby

Sovana Sovana is a small town in southern Tuscany, Italy, a ''frazione'' of Sorano, a comune in the province of Grosseto. History Etruscan by origin, Sovana became a Roman ''municipium'', and, from the 5th century, an episcopal see. Conquered by Lomba ...

. Disappearing from history under the Roman domination, it is again known in 862 when a county was founded by Emperor Louis II, under the

Aldobrandeschi The Aldobrandeschi were an Italian noble family from southern Tuscany. Overview Of probable Lombard origin, they appear in history as counts in the 9th century. The first known count was Hildebrand II (857). Their possession extended to what i ...

suzerainty. The Aldobrandeschi were the most powerful feudataries of southern Tuscany for more than four centuries, disappearing in 1312 when Margherita, son of Ildibrandino, died without male heirs. His daughter Adelaide married to Romano di Gentile

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: *Angel ...

, who added the city to the family fiefs. The county of

Pitigliano Pitigliano is a town in the province of Grosseto, located about south-east of the city of Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy. The quaint old town is known as ''the little Jerusalem'', for the historical presence of a Jewish community that has always bee ...

-Sorano fought against the

Republic of Siena The Republic of Siena ( it, Repubblica di Siena, la, Respublica Senensis) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its e ...

, but was forced to accept its suzerainty from 1417. It regained a full independence in 1556, when the latter was annexed to the Duchy of Tuscany. The fortress, due to its strategic position, was frequently attacked; it was also the seat of fratricidal fights between the Orsini. In 1604, with the death of Alessandro di Bertoldo, it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

in 1860.

''Frazioni''

The municipality is formed by the municipal seat of Sorano and the villages (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') of

Castell'Ottieri Castell'Ottieri is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Sorano, province of Grosseto, in the tuff area of southern Maremma. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 195. Castell'Ottieri ...

, Cerreto,

Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...

Montebuono Montebuono is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about north of Rome and about west of Rieti. Montebuono borders the following municipalities: Calvi dell'Umbria, Collevecchio, Magliano ...

Montevitozzo Montevitozzo is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Sorano, province of Grosseto, in the tuff area of southern Maremma. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 106. Geography Montev ...

, Montorio,

San Giovanni delle Contee San Giovanni delle Contee is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Sorano, province of Grosseto, in the tuff area of southern Maremma. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 224. San G ...

, San Quirico, San Valentino and

Culture

Comedian

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

mentions Sorano in a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

on both the radio and television versions of ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'', in which Jack has written a song entitled “When You Say 'I Beg Your Pardon,' Then I’ll Come Back to You.” In the gag, each time Jack reaches the lyric “when the swallows at Sorano return to Capistrano,” the song is interrupted by a cast member or guest star questioning how a swallow could possibly fly all the way from Italy to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

.Archived a
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Wayback Machine

Main sights

*''Rocca degli Orsini'' (Orsini castle), built in the 14th century but totally renovated by Niccolò IV Orsini in 1552. It is considered one of the most important examples of Renaissance military architecture. It has two massive angular bastions, connected by a line of walls with the main gate, which is surmounted by a noteworthy coat of arms and by a square tower. In the interior of the walls are remains of the ancient nucleus, with a round tower and the draw-bridge, now disappeared. A cycle of 16th-century frescoes of Sienese school have been recently found out. *''Masso Leopoldino'', a natural tuff stone carved to form a fortified, panoramic terrace by order of Gran Duke

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

. * Vitozza cave settlement and fortress Another castle is in the ''frazione'' of Sovana.

References

External links