Castello di Sorci, Medieval castle in San Lorenzo, Anghiari, Italy

Castello di Sorci is a medieval fortress in Anghiari featuring a square defensive tower and a residential section with multiple rooms and a private chapel. The tower served a protective function while the main building housed living and dining areas designed for the inhabitants of this hilltop stronghold.

The castle is documented from the 12th century; a diploma of Emperor Henry V from 1111 names Sorci, then the seat of a monastery. In 1322 it belonged to Piersaccone Tarlati, and the Tarlati held it until 1388. The condottiero Baldaccio Bruni then acquired it, and after his murder in Florence in 1441 his widow Annalena Malatesta retired here. The Pichi of Sansepolcro owned it from 1443 to 1650, turning it into a farming estate.

The name Sorci, according to local legend, comes from a rival Castle of the Cats defeated by the Sorci family; philologist Nino Boriosi instead links it to sorco, a German-derived word for moorland or broom thicket. The Pichi turned the stronghold into a farming estate, and the estate still operates as an agricultural business today.

The castle stands in the hamlet of San Lorenzo, in the municipality of Anghiari in the province of Arezzo. The church of San Lorenzo a Sorci belonged to the Pieve Santa Maria alla Sovara, about 3.5 km to the northwest; the parish counted 225 inhabitants in 1833. The complex includes a small temple and a porticoed building 300 metres away, now a locanda.

This fortress was used as a filming location for an Italian comedy film in 1984, bringing it wider recognition among movie audiences. That cinematic connection remains part of its story today, adding a modern chapter to its medieval past.