 According to the tradition, the Countess Matilda of Canossa, the owner of large properties in Viterbo, donated Bassano's castle and other places in the area to Pope Gregory VII in 1070.As evidence of this, there is also a bull written by Innocent III dating back to 1212, in which it is asserted that on that date the estate was already belonging to the Apostolic Chamber.The town, therefore, found itself always under the protection of the Church, protected from attacks by the powerful nearby town, especially Orte's.