 The name is thought to derive from the Latin words "sub" (under) and "ficinulae/ficus" (small fig tree").The municipal statutes date right back to the 13th century.The democratically administered Republic of Siena allowed several municipalities, including Sovicille, their own municipal statutes in 1238 (modified in 1293 and then reconfigured, to the format that survives today, in 1303), which included the right to make their own laws.