Pitigliano
PITIGLIANO, a town in Italy, province of Grosseto. Pop. (1901), 4416. It is the cathedral city of the bishopric named after the neighbouring town of Sovana, and possesses a 16 th century cathedral and a church of the nth-15th centuries, Pitigliano was originally a fief of the count ship of Sovana, which in 1 293 came by marriage into the possession of the Orsini. In 1410 Sovana was taken by the Siencese, but by the terms of a peace concluded in 1417 the Orsini retained Pitigliano, Gentile Orsini (assassinated 1434) assuming the title of count of Pitigliano. The most famous of the line of counts was Niccolo III. (1442-1510), a celebrated condottiere. Under his successors Pitigliano became the scene of ceaseless family feuds culminating in assassinations. In 1562 the Medici of Florence seized part of their territories, and acquired the rest by exchange in 1 580. The Orsini stronghold still stands in the town.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
