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Sovicille

Italian comune

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ91472
Source-derived summary

Sovicille is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region of Tuscany. It is located about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Florence and approximately 10 kilometres (6 miles) southwest of Siena.

Sovicille borders the comuni of Casole d'Elsa, Chiusdino, Monteriggioni, Monteroni d'Arbia, Monticiano, Murlo, Siena.

History

The name Sovicille has been documented as far back as 1004, but the origins of the area likely date back much further. In 2002, a mosaic from the Roman period was uncovered in the Church of St. John the Baptist, and several Etruscan relics have been found in the immediate area.

During the Middle Ages, the region lay on the borders between Siena and Volterra. The Abbey of Serena, about 30 kilometres to the west, was under the control of Volterra, and the land around Sovicille was included as property of the abbey around the year 1000.

A written record of the place survives from 23 April 1123, in which Pope Alexander III, originally from Siena, identifies it as Sufficille. The name is believed to derive from the Latin words sub (under) and ficinulae or ficus (small fig tree).

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Sovicille” is italian comune. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Sovicille, Italian and comune, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1004, 2002, 1000, 1123—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Sovicille, Italian and comune is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “italian comune” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q91472. VIAF identifies the subject as 156773240. The Library of Congress control number is n81084617. Authority coordinates are 43.283, 11.233. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1004, 2002, 1000 and 1123.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Sovicille”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Sovicille primary sources, Sovicille archive and Sovicille research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sovicille”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Sovicille” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.