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TheDuchy of Sora was asemi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by KingAlfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is todayLazio, bordering what is nowAbruzzo. Its capital was firstSora, and later, under theBoncompagni family,Isola di Sora.
TheCounty of Sora had been constituted in 1399 as afief of theKingdom of Naples. In 1443Nicola Cantelmo, who was already count of Sora and nearbyAlvito, was named the first duke of Sora by Alfonso I. His fief was intended as a buffer between the Neapolitan kingdom and thePapal States. The Cantelmi struggled in the 15th century for a greater degree of autonomy, often taking advantage of the succession crises that threatened to tear apart the Kingdom of Naples until the early 16th century.
In 1450, during one of these wars,Pope Pius II, who supported the Aragonese party, sentFederico III da Montefeltro against the Cantelmi. The Soran army was defeated and the duchy pacified. In 1463 however the Cantelmi rebelled again. This time the papal commander wasNapoleone Orsini, who capturedIsola del Liri,Arpino, and a large piece of territory, making Sora a papal fief. Piergiampaolo Cantelmo lost the ducal title. His remaining lands in Alvito andPopoli were assigned to his brother Giovanni Cantelmo with the title of Count. In 1472Pope Sixtus IV renounced his feudal rights over Sora: the duchy of Sora, now separated from that of Alvito and augmented by the addition ofArce, was given to his nephewLeonardo della Rovere, who married a daughter of KingFerdinand I of Naples.
Between 1494 and 1501 DukeGiovanni della Rovere (also lord ofSenigallia in theMarche) defeated an Aragonese army inL'Aquila and then defeatedBartolomeo d'Alviano, who was threatening his northern frontier, nearTagliacozzo. In 1495 he conqueredCeprano andMontecassino, bringing the Duchy to its greatest territorial extent. The following year he defended an attack fromProspero Colonna, but lostEsperia andMonte San Giovanni Campano untilPope Alexander VI recognised him as duke.
After Giovanni's death, the title went toFrancesco Maria I della Rovere, who was officially invested with the title by theKing of France, then a pretendent to Naples,Louis XII. After defending his lands fromCesare Borgia's assault, in 1516 Francesco Maria was ousted byFernando d'Avalos, acting for the king of Naples,Charles IV. He was the last pro-French ruler in the kingdom. The Duchy was then ruled for a short while byWilliam de Croÿ, but the Della Rovere regained it in 1528 thanks to the efforts ofOdet de Foix.
Francesco Maria was succeeded by his sonGiulio, and then byFrancesco Maria II della Rovere.
In 1579Pope Gregory XIII acquired the duchy for 100,000scudi, assigning it to his sonGiacomo Boncompagni. The duchy was also at this time enlarged by the acquisition ofAquino and Arpino, becoming a truly autonomous seigniory only nominally dependent on the Kingdom of Naples. The creation of an independent state in southern Lazio had been managed by cardinalFrancesco Maria Del Monte to counterbalance the expansion of theHouse of Farnese. Giacomo marriedCostanza Sforza, who embellished the duchy with buildings, gardens and schools. The Dukes promoted local industry by installing textile factories in Arpino and Sora and a paper industry along theLiri River. They also founded a new town,Colle Drago, but after Giacomo and his successorGregorio I, the financial difficulties of the family, caused by such expensive projects, prevented further efforts.
At the death of dukeGiovan Giacomo (1636), his brotherUgo had to face the popular rebellion of thebrigandPapone, a follower of the republicanism ofMasaniello. He occupied Sora andCassino and formed a popular government. Ugo was succeeded by his sonGregorio II, who marriedIppolita Ludovisi, who added to his lands theprincipality of Piombino. The union of theBoncompagni andLudovisi families as the Boncompagni-Ludovisi largely resolved their economical difficulties, but at that time the duchy was facing increased custom taxes imposed by the Papal States on its merchants. Gregorio II's successor,Antonio I, died in 1731, leaving his lands to his sonGaetano, who relaunched a policy of social and economical improvements in the Liri Valley, as well as the embellishment of Colle Drago.
The last Duke wasAntonio II, who ceded his state to KingFerdinand IV of Naples in 1796. The Princes Boncompagni Ludovisi are still the titular Dukes.