The locality of Sorio is situated in the municipality of Gambellara, in the province of Vicenza, on the western edge of the Berici Hills, bordering the province of Verona. It is a small inhabited settlement nestled in the rolling landscape of the Vicentine hills, surrounded by the vineyards that produce the celebrated Recioto di Gambellara and the Gambellara DOC wines.
The Church of San Giorgio in Sorio
At the heart of the hamlet stands the church of San Giorgio in Sorio, whose patron saint — Saint George — holds the key to understanding the very origin of both the place name and the surname. The dedication to Saint George (Sanctus Georgius) underwent, over the centuries, the phonetic transformations typical of the Venetian dialect: Georgius → Zorzo → Sorio. A fresco depicting Saint George slaying the dragon can still be found in the area, bearing witness to a thousand-year-old devotion to this saint.
Monte Sorio
Beyond the hamlet, there is Monte Sorio, the volcanic hill that separates Montebello Vicentino from Gambellara. On this hill the battle of 8 April 1848 was fought, a significant episode of the First Italian War of Independence, and here stands the Caregaro Negrin obelisk in memory of the fallen.
The place name is therefore threefold: the church of San Giorgio in Sorio, the hamlet of Sorio, and Monte Sorio.
Today on Monte Sorio one can also find the La Biancara winery of Angiolino Maule (Loc. Monte Sorio 8, founded 1988), which produces a Garganega passito wine called precisely “Monte Sorio”.
Villa Sorio
Villa Sorio is the most significant historic building in the hamlet. It is a construction of Renaissance or late medieval origin, typical of the rural residences of the Veneto. The villa features a keystone bearing a noble coat of arms, which may correspond to one of the two heraldic variants of the Sorio family recorded by Crollalanza (1888).
The villa is linked to the winemaking tradition of the territory: as early as fifteenth-century documents, traces of Garganega cultivation can be found in this area — the indigenous grape variety that still forms the basis of Gambellara DOC wines today.
Historical Attestations
The earliest documented attestations of the Sorio surname in the Gambellara area date back to the fifteenth century:
- 1468: A contract cites Cristoforo Sorio in a transaction involving “unam zestam magnam vue garganege” (a large basket of Garganega grapes) in the Gambellara/Calderina area
- 1498: A second contract in the same viticultural sphere, indicating a continuity of the Sorio family in land management for at least three decades
These documents, cited in the bulletin of the “La Vigna” Library of Vicenza, attest to the family’s deep roots in the Gambellara territory from at least the second half of the fifteenth century.
The Territory Today
Gambellara is today a municipality of approximately 3,300 inhabitants, known primarily for its wine production. The DOC Gambellara appellation, established in 1970, encompasses still white wines and the prestigious Recioto di Gambellara DOCG, produced from dried Garganega grapes. The bond between the territory, the Sorio surname, and viticulture reaches back to the Middle Ages and represents one of the guiding threads of this research.
Sources: Bulletin of the “La Vigna” Library of Vicenza; G.B. di Crollalanza, Dizionario storico blasonico, Pisa 1888; parish archives of Gambellara.