Sorso is a big rural town (14,000 inhabitants) in the province of Sassari. It is situated at 10 Km. from the city of Sassari in the historic region called Romangia, the beautiful site of vineyards and olive-groves, of which it is the main centre.
Sorso is at 3 Km. from the seaside; its sandy coasts abound with dunes and rich vegetation of pine trees, junipers and palm trees. Nearby is the Stagno di Platamona, a pond renown for its rare ornithological species. The site presents remains of great interest from an archaeological point of view, including the ruins of some nuraghi, which testify to the presence of ancient civilisations dating back to the prehistoric and the Nuragic eras.
The villa of Santa Filidigga, close to the sea, is from the Roman age; this was also inhabited at the time of the Byzantine and the barbaric invasions. From the X to the XIII century (periodo giudicale), Sorso was the main centre of the so-called "curatoria", the administrative centre of Romangia, that belonged to the Giudicato di Torres.
Hence, its annexation to the Comune di Sassari (Sassari's City Council). Following the Aragonese invasion in 1323, Sorso became the chief town of the Encontrada de Romangia, and it was divided into large estates administered by the Aragonese aristocracy.
On 19 October 1436, the estates were given to Gonario Gambella, an aristocratic citizen of Sassari. On 27 June 1444, the Encontrada became Baronia, and the family of Gambella gained the title of barons. Following the death of Rosa Gambella in 1483, a long lawsuit began for the allotment, which ended in 1596 only, when the estate was given to the heirs of Maddalena, Rosa's sister. In 1527, Sorso was invaded and sacked by the French army.
In 1646, due to the wedding of Giovanni Battista Amat with Maddalena Deliperi Gambella, the estate became property of the Aragonese family of Amat. In 1652, the blight dramatically reduced the population of Sorso and of the rest of Sardinia. In 1720, the island was annexed to the Kingdom of Savoy.
At that time, Sorso engaged in a lawsuit against the Amat family that was resolved in 1839, with the end of the feudal system in Sardinia. Sorso fight against the feudal system began in 1793. Led by the patriot Giovanni Maria Angioy, the townsmen took actively part in the numerous insurrections subsequently failed, which is why the land was then subject to the feudal law of the barons and the Savoy family.
After 1839, Sorso became one of the most flourishing centres of the North of Sardinia thanks to its agricultural wealth based on vineyards and olive-groves. In 1846, Salvatore Farina, famous writer and co-founder of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, was born in Sorso.
In the XX century a number of important men were also born in Sorso. Amongst them the painter Pietro Antonio Manca, and the anthropologist Fabio Frassetto, famous for his studies on the remains of Dante Alighieri and S. Domenico Guzman.
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