Sovana is a small town in southern Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, a frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

of Sorano

Sorano

Sorano is a town and comune in the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany .It as an ancient medieval hill town hanging from a tuff stone over the Lente River.thumb|220px|left|A view of Sorano.-History:...

, a comune in the province of Grosseto

Province of Grosseto

The Province of Grosseto is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto.-Geography:It has an area of 4,504 km², and a total population of 227.498...

.

History

Etruscan by origin, Sovana became a Roman municipium

Municipium

Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...

, and, from the 5th century, an episcopal see. Conquered by Lombards

Lombards

The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 in 592-605, it was chosen as their administrative center in the area. Later, when Roselle

Rusellae

Rusellae was an ancient town of Etruria , which survived until the Middle Ages before being abandoned. The ruins lie in the modern frazione of Roselle in the comune of Grosseto.-Geography:...

 was abandoned due to Saracen ravages, it became the centre of the county under the Aldobrandeschi family. In the Middle Ages it was known as Soana.

Its importance declined when the county was acquired by the Orsini, who moved the capital to Pitigliano

Pitigliano

Pitigliano is an Italian town and comune of province of Grosseto in the Maremma area of Tuscany. The town stands on an abrupt tuff butte high above the Olpeta, the Fiora and the Lente rivers.-History:...

. In the mid-16th century Sovana was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...

 by Cosimo I de' Medici.

Main sights

• Rocca Aldobrandesca (Aldobrandeschi Castle), probably built over a pre-existing Etruscan/Roman fortress. The current appearance dates from its 1572 renovation, when the bastions were added. Dismantled in the 17th century, today only the portal, a tower and a stretch of walls remain.
• Palazzo Pretorio (13th-15th centuries).
• The Romanesque
  Romanesque architecture
  Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
  
   church of Santa Maria Maggiore (12th-13th church). It houses one of the most ancient pre-Romanesque ciboria (the plural of "ciborium").
• The cathedral
  Cathedral
  A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
  
  , built in the 11th-12th centuries over a most ancient 8th century edifice, also in Romanesque style, has a nave and two aisles with columns carrying interesting decorations with biblical scenes. Of the 8th century the crypt and the richly decorated portal remain. Also curious is the relief of a two-tailed siren, next to the latter, which has similarity with one of the carved Etruscan tombs recently discovered in the area. Among others, Bishop of Sovana was Antonio Vegni
  Vegni
  The Vegni are an Italian family from Siena. The medioeval origins of the family are uncertain and with limited documentation.A notary of the royal chamber, called Bencivennis , was active in Siena in the first part of the 13th century...
  
  , born in 1686. After a long period in Rome, he was bishop of Sovana and Pitigliano from 1739 to 1746.
• Loggetta
  Loggia
  Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
  
   del Capitano
• The Late Renaissance Palazzo Bourbon del Monte, built by Cosimo I de' Medici.
• The Church of San Mamiliano, may be the most ancient of the village. In recent years, during archaeological investigations, there has been found a treasure of near 500 golden coins of the 5th century AD.

External links

• Panorama of nearby via cava