Sora, an ancient Volscian town, was thrice captured by the Romans, in 345, 314 and 305 BC, before they managed, in 303, by means of a colony 4000 strong, to confirm its annexation. In 209 it was one of the colonies which refused further contributions to the war against Hannibal. By the lex Julia it became a municipium, but under Augustus it was colonized by soldiers of the legio IV Sorana, which had been mainly enrolled there. It belonged technically to Latium Adjectum.
The castle of Sorella, built on the rocky height above the town, was in the Middle Ages a stronghold of some note - Charles of Anjou made Sora a duchy for the Cantelmi; it was afterwards seized by Pope Pius II, but, being restored to the Cantelmi by Pope Sixtus IV, it ultimately passed to the Della Rovere of Urbino. Against Caesar Borgia the city was heroically defended by Giovanni di Montefeltro. It was purchased by Pope Gregory XIII for 11,000 ducats and bestowed on the Buoncompagni, the ancestors of the line of Buoncompagni-Ludovisi. In ancient times Sora was the birthplace of the Decii, Atilius Regulus, and Lucius Mummius; and among its later celebrities is Cardinal Baronius.
This text is from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.