The Name

Suana is the name given to the Etruscan city by the Romans after their conquest of the Vulci territory in 278 BC.

The name derives from the Etruscan suf, meaning "green earth.".



History
• 7th century BC: the oldest tombs of Etruscan Sovana date from this period. Protected by high crags of tuff with a single access-way, the site presents the characteristics preferred by the Etruscans for their urban settlements.
• ca 350 BC: Sovana is already a flourishing center, to a large extent independent of the powerful nearby Vulci. The town continues to be Etruscan even after the Romans penetrate into southern Etruria: the large temple tombs of the mid-3rd century BC testify to the importance of Sovana in the Hellenistic-Roman period up until the end of the 1st century BC.
• 4th century AD: after a long period as a Roman municipium, Sovana becomes a diocese.
• 594: conquered by the Lombards, Sovana is awarded to the Aldobrandeschi family.
• 935: the Saracen raid of Roselle leads the Aldobrandeschi to establish Sovana as the main site of their county. In the 11th century they erect the fortress, later rebuilt in the 13-14th century.
• ca. 1020: Hildebrand, future Pope Gregory VII, is born in Sovana. Protector of the Aldobrandeschi, he encourages the expansion of the county.
• 12-13th century: the Republic of Siena and the Commune of Orvieto try to wrest Sovana from the Aldobrandeschi, together with its vast territories between Orvieto and the sea.
• 1312: the county territories pass via marriage from the Aldobrandeschi to the Roman Orsini family, which relocates the center of its power to Pitigliano and Sorano.
• 1410: Sovana's conquest by Siena intensifies the decline of the town, which by 1414 has dropped to only 86 inhabitants.
• 1560: Florence's defeat of Siena places Sovana within the borders of the Florentine State.
• 1640-50: in order to slow down the decline in population in the village and surrounding countryside, grand duke Ferdinand II settles 200 Greek immigrant families in Sovana. Malaria and privation result in the failure of all attempts at repopulation, however, and in 1783 Peter Leopold of Lorena declares the municipality of Sovana dissolved. From that date Sovana is incorporated into the Commune of Sorano.




The Etruscan goddess of death in the shady wood

It is hard to say whether Etruscan or medieval memories hold sway in little Sovana. While the presence of the Etruscans is strongly evidenced by the necropolis, the enchantment of the historic center is entirely medieval: Sovana's closely-grouped religious and public edifices illustrate the importance of this town during the feudal era, erected on a block of tuff in a patch of the Tuscan Maremma along the border with Latium.

It seems incredible that this village of only a few houses, traversed by a single street (the only one left), once held city status, that it was the main center of a vast county and a fortified stronghold which gave birth to a pope.

All of Sovana lies between the fortress and the Cathedral, monuments which stand as symbols of the political power of the Aldobrandeschi and the spiritual power of the Church. Of the Aldobrandeschi Fortress, set within the medieval walls, some imposing ruins remain, including the lopped-off tower. Built in the 11th century and later restored by Siena and the Medici, its underground passages were connected to Sovana's other gateways, allowing for the rapid movement of troops. In the 17th century, having lost its military importance, the fortress was dismantled. At its base, near the gate, the fortress incorporates blocks of ancient Etruscan walls from the 6th century BC.

From the fortress gate the visitor can enter via del Pretorio and continue on to the central square, overlooked on the left by: the externals walls of San Mamiliano, the town's oldest church (erected in the 4th century AD over the remains of an Etruscan and later Roman construction); the Bourbon Del Monte Palace, owned by the marquis of the same name, with its rustic façade and wide colonnade (16th century); the adjoining Church of Santa Maria (12th-13th century), which retains traces of the Romanesque and Gothic periods, 16th-century frescoes, two Roman cippi and above all a splendid pre-Romanesque ciborium (8th century), unique in Tuscany.

The square, enclosed by the 13th-century Palazzetto dell'Archivio with its
bell-gable and Clock Tower - so named because used for public functions - presents on its right the Palazzo Pretorio (13th century), restored by Siena, whose coats of arms dominate the façade next to those of the Medici. At its side, the Loggia del Capitano bears a coat of arms of Cosimo I.

Now isolated from the rest of the town, the Cathedral rises on the western strip of the block of tuff dominating the valley of the necropolis. It exhibits various styles - Lombard, Romanesque, Gothic - in correspondence with the different periods in which it was constructed. The cathedral's most important period was that of its expansion by the Aldobrandeschi and Pope Gregory VII during the 11th century, as demonstrated by the many Romanesque elements. There are exquisite sculptures dating to this epoch on cornices and capitals, especially those of the portal and of the lunette over the main entranceway.

Piazza del Pretorio, with its cozy medieval atmosphere, the ciborium in the Church of Santa Maria and the cathedral portal are not the only wonders offered by a tour of Sovana. The warm hue of the tuff, hollowed out and polished by the water, the verdant oaks and the dense shrubbery in the ravines and gorges almost conceal the most important rupestrian Etruscan necropolis, made up of a wide variety of tombs (chamber, cube, niche, trench, temple) and by a maze of pathways hollowed out of the rock. The most beautiful funereal monuments date back to the beginning of the 3rd century BC, including the large Pola and Ildebranda tombs, which recreate an Etruscan temple of the Hellenistic age.

In the depths of the wood we find chamber tombs wedged into the ridge of tuff. We can also admire the intriguing niche tomb of the Siren, in whose arch the figure of the deceased was sculpted, lying on the convivial bed. To the left stood Vanth, the goddess of death, now recovered in fragments and exhibited in the Archeological Museum of Florence. Contemplating the sleep of the dead, sister death seems to reveal to us the ultimate secret of the female soul: death, like life, should be pure, artless, innocent, natural.

Now the visitor has only to visit the principal town of the commune, Sorano, and venture into the alleyways of this medieval village, with its small piazzas,
portals of aristocratic residences framed in rusticated stonework, Via del Ghetto with its Jewish oven, and its houses huddled together on the cliff overhanging the Lente river valley.




Local Products

Sovana DOC is a strong red wine of the Maremma region, made from grapes which have reached a perfect level of maturation thanks to their optimum exposure to the sun's rays.

Here wine production is partially rooted in traditions which go back to the ancient Etruscans.

Kosher wine is still produced in Sorano, using Jewish wine-making techniques, in memory of the Jewish community which had its synagogue here.

Olive oil is the other traditional product of Sovana's hills and surrounding area. Famous for its high quality, it is one of the best in Tuscany.



Local dishes
Acquacotta and lamb buglione are the local specialties.

Acquacotta, once considered a humble dish, is made with three onions, a celery stalk and leafs, puréed tomatoes, Sovana olive oil, salt, hot pepper, 40 grams of grated pecorino cheese, four eggs and Tuscan bread that is a few days old (dried out).