From the description of Breviglieri et al., (1965) we can infer that Alessio and Dalmasso report as follows about the origin of Ansonica variety (Ansoria, Inzolia),:
"The Old Italian (XVI) recognizes the name ‘ansoria’ to indicate a kind of grape, a name that is also recorded in the dictionaries of Petrocchi and of Tommaso Bellini. The word seems to have southern roots, and it exists still in: - Sicily: Soria (n) zòlia, nsolia, ’sort of large grapes, sweet ,with oblong berries‘; - Calabria: ansòlia, nsuòlia, Insolia, anzulu, ansoliku, ansoria, species of white grapes; - Sardinia: erba insòlika, arba sòlika (from albus ’white‘)grapevine varieties with white fruit; - Tuscany: Isle of Elba ansòniko (kind of white grapevine that makes a wine of the same name) and in the Isle of Giglio (‘anzònaka‘ a variety of grape, ’anzònako‘ the wine). Of the above mentioned items, ansoria is attested in ancient times. So, it seems that the barycentre of its distribution has been into Sicily, whence it passed to southern Italy, Sardinia, and from there to the Isle of Elba, to the Isle of Giglio and to the coastal area of Tuscany.
This variety has been described by many authors, as it is clear from the bibliography by Molon. In the catalog of the Hortus Catholicus by Cupani (1696) there are three types of ’Inzolia‘, two of which are white: ‘Vitis mediocribus vinaceis, durulis, oblongis, candido-fulvis, sapidis, vulgo: Inzolia Vranca, Eadem racemo , et granis majoribus; flavescentibus, sapidioribus, vulgo: Inzolia Imperiali o di Napuli’. Acerbi (1825) reported a brief description of the variety called ‘white Nzolia’ with oblong berry, while the Baron Mendola (1868) about ‘White Insolia’ wrote:: The Insolie are cultivated ‘ab antico’ in Sicily. They have the common wood vigour, copy and robustness of capreoli, jagged leaves. The most fruitful and mostaia is the golden white that likes to the mouth and abounds in all the vineyards from Marsala to Catania.
Nicolosi (1869) called it "beautiful quality of grapes, gives much fruit, and produces a generous wine, has a nice flavor; these qualities make it highly sought after."
Paulsen (1904), in his monograph ,gave also detailed information on its behavior to grafting with American rootstocks.