History
Both coming from Viterbo or Rome, Soriano appears in the same way: the centre lies on the top of a roundish hill,it is characterized by two different types of urbanistic settlement: the little medieval village around the castle (built during the pontificate of Pope Niccolò III Orsini in the XIIIth century), and the wide Renaissance quarters which contain it. The former is made up of little houses and narrow lanes that face wide stretches of chestnut trees; the latter instead offers the wonderful Albani Chigi Palace (XVIth century), which is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Ottaviano Schiratti, with the very famous Fontana Papacqua. Of Etruscan or Phoenician origin, even if recent recoveries show human presence also in prehistorical ages, some scholars in the past have considered it was "Surrina Vetus", destroyed by the Romans. Judging by the archaeological discoveries, there were many inhabited units, of modest dimension, that settled in the territory of Soriano during the Etruscan period. In the Roman one there were more than 30 little villages. How could such an uneven and wooded territory be so much populated? The first supposition regard the geografic collocation, so near to the centres of Ferentium and Meonia, and not far from Bisentium, Falerii, Horta, Surrena and Vulsini. Another supposition was made by Father Germano Passionista in the XVIIIth century: it regards the passage of the Ferentian Route (Strada Ferentana) which connected Ferentium with Falerii.
Further conjectures link the presence of settlements with plenty of of natural defences, the chance to sight eventual attackers or, even, with the presence of a temple consecrated to Jupiter Cimino. Inhabited settlements got more numerous during the Middle Ages: little castles rounded mostly by a few houses or rural villages; from the VIIIth till the XIIIth century there were important monastic settlements, around whici entire villages of artisans and peasants developped. The first documents about Soriano go back to the VIIIth century: the most ancient is the "Chronicon", in which are named a "Fundus Seriani" and a "Fundus Corbiani", given to the Benedictine monastery of S. Andrea in Fulmine in 747A.D. by Carlomanno; there is also a "Decreto" of the Longobard king Desiderio (773 A.D.). As reported in a letter by Leone IV (Pope from 847 till 855) and by a Papal Bull of Innocenzo III (1198-1216), in the following centuries, a part of Soriano's funds and churches became property of the diocese of Tuscania.
After the expulsion of the heretical Guastapane, in 1278 started the rule of the Orsini family. Once Orso Orsini occupated the fund and terminated the Castle, his uncle, the Pope Niccolò III choose Soriano as his summer residence. The dominion of the Orsini lasted until 1366 when Paolo Orsini, with the mediation of cardinal Egidio Albornoz, sold the castle, considered a real fortress, to the Holy See. The affair provoked the protest of the Benedictines who claimed the prperty of the castle. The dispute ended in 1373 with the bull of Gregorio XI that extabilished an allowance in favour of the monks. When it got back under the Holy See, the castle was occupied by the Breton mercenaries, called by cardinal Roberto of Geneva to soothe some rebellion. When the cardinal was elected anti-Pope (by the name of Clemente VII), the Bretons abandoned the Holy See remaining loyal to him and folowing the anti-Popes in Avignon. Only in 1420, during the pontificate of Martino V, the Bretons moved from the Castle that was given to Giordano Colonna, the Pope's brother. Until 1441, year in which it went back under the Church of Rome, Soriano was the theatre of quarrels for its possession among various mercenary captains as: Francesco Sforza and Niccolò Fortebraccio.
From this date, the village enjoyed a period of relative quietness. Thank of the interest of Pope Niccolò V Parentuccelli (1447-1455), many works of restoration of the castle started, a public fountain was built inside the village which had also the permission to have a statute. During the pontificate of Innocenzo VIII (1482-1492), Soriano was given as perpetual vicariate to cardinal Rodrigo Borgia who, once become Pope as AlessandroVI, gave the castle to cardinal Giovan Battista Orsini. In 1497, when the Orsini family placed itself at the king of France's disposal (Charles the VIIIth) against the will of Rome, Soriano was theatre of an important open-field battle that saw the papal army defeated by the Orsini's. The were then defeated and forced to leave Soriano by Cesare Borgia, the "Valentino", in 1503.
Afterwards, the castle was given to Giulio II Della Rovere, who succeded Alessandro VI, then to his grandchildren who, in 1588 sold it to Giovanni Caraffa, nephew of Pope Paolo IV. After various events and owners, the castle was bought by the Altemps, who remained lords of the feud for 136 years, until 1715. In fact the sell of the castle and its feudal rights goes back to this date; it was sold to the Albani, who provided to finish the Papacqua Palace and restore numerous monuments. In the first half of the XIXth century, Soriano was allotted to Agostino Chigi, descendant of the Albani. In 1848 the Chigi family, even remaining owners of the Papacqua Palace, renounced to their feudal rights in favour of the Holy See. After the short Roman Republic of Mazzini (1849) and some isolated insurrectional tries, on the 12th of September 1875, Soriano was conquered by the Italian troops during their march towards Rome.