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 16th-century cathedral and a church of the 11th-15th centuries, Pitiglia.no was originally a fief of the countship of Sovana, which in 1293 came by marriage into the possession of the Orsini . In 1410 Sovana was taken by the Siennese, 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 1580 . The Orsini stronghold still stands in the town .