Sugano
Welcome to Sugano, a charming village on the hills of Umbria!
Sugano is a delightful Umbrian village situated on the rocky slope of the Alfina plateau. We share with you the history and economy of this charming village!
History
Sugano dates back to Etruscan times, when the first communities chose to settle in the surrounding countryside of the Orvietana rock in the 4th century BC. In 1115, the village already existed, while in 1278, it was established as the XXXVI village of Orvieto.
It was a fiefdom of the Monaldeschi and a stronghold of the county of Bolsena. Later, Sugano was involved in all the events that affected those areas, gradually becoming identified with Orvieto.
Economy
Although located in a predominantly agricultural area, the territory of Sugano was home to numerous pre-industrial activities already in the XIX century.
There was a quarry where leucitic tephra stone was extracted, used in Orvieto's construction industry, and a small leucite mine. An abundant spring still supplies drinking water to Orvieto today, providing the opportunity for the construction of a small power plant that has been supplying electricity to Orvieto and its surroundings since 1891.
The same waters powered a paper mill which, it is said, provided precious paper to the Vatican. The sources of the Tione river, sources of mineral water, instead supplied a brick kiln, two wheat mills, one for oil, and were also used for a Coypus Myocastor breeding.
Today, the Tione sources are exploited for bottling, while only a ruin covered by vegetation and two rusty turbines remain of the old power plant.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, around Tione, mulberry trees were cultivated to feed a small silk industry active in Sugano.
The vines of Sugano were famous for the grapes they produced, used for the precious wine ''Sucano'', now forgotten. The testimony of this is in a letter of 1549 sent by Sante Lancerio to Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza, in which the butler wrote:
Notes
According to Istat data from 2001, the population of Sugano is 344 inhabitants.
Other projects
Sugano is also known as one of Orvieto's hamlets, famous worldwide for its cathedral and the Well of St. Patrick. Sugano is the perfect place for those seeking a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere, far from the chaos of the city. Come and discover this Umbrian gem!
