 The Abbey of Serena, some 30 kilometers to the west, was under the control of Volterra, and the land around Sovicille was included as property of the abbey around the year 1000.A written record of the place survives from 23 April 1123, in which the (by origin Senese) Pope Alexander III identifies it as Sufficille.The name is thought to derive from the Latin words "sub" (under) and "ficinulae/ficus" (small fig tree").