Castello di Montorio, Medieval castle in Sorano, Italy

Castello di Montorio is a fortified farm in the village of Montorio, part of Sorano in Tuscany. Its L-shaped layout has a low circular tower at the southeast corner of the village walls. The walls are clad in tufa blocks, and a courtyard with a well, formerly a cistern, is decorated with mirrors brought from the castle of Sopano.

Montorio began as an Aldobrandeschi fortress, but already in the 13th century the family ceded it in usufruct to the Ottieri, local lords including Count Bartolomeo. Emperor Otto I's diploma of 19 August 967, issued at Viterbo, had granted the castle in perpetuity to Raynerius Lotherius of Castell'Ottieri. The Ottieri held it through struggles with Orvieto, the county of Castell'Ottieri and incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the early 17th century, until the family died out; in 1789 Lottario died in Rome without heirs.

The castle's name comes from the village of Montorio, and the well in its courtyard once served as a cistern. That well is decorated with mirrors originally kept at the castle of Sopano, a detail a visitor can still spot inside the courtyard.

The castle today is a private agricultural estate with limited public access. Visitors can see the fortified walls and elevated position from outside, which helps understand the original defensive placement.

The well in the castle courtyard once served as a cistern and is decorated with mirror panels that originally stood at the castle of Sopano, a detail most visitors walk past. The two wings of the building frame this courtyard inside the village walls.