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Loc. Pretale 53018 - Sovicille (SI) Tel.: (+39) 0577 345401 Fax: (+39) 0577 345625 www.borgopretale.it info@borgopretale.it   Position: panoramic, hilly

Borgo Pretale is a handful of ancient buildings once home of stonemasons and quarry workers; the same ones, we are told in a mixture of legend and history, who spent their life working in the most famous building site of the middle ages: that of the duomo of Siena.
Today Borgo Pretale is a charming hotel. The restoration, carried out in strict observance of the original aspect and style of the old stone houses, has brought to life a prestigious hotel. It offers the place where to relax amongst gorgeous landscapes, cobbled lanes and stone buildings: a place where it seems possible to stop the time without renouncing to modern life comforts.
The rooms, all different from one another in terms of layout, upholstery and furnishing are always in tune with the atmosphere suggested by the place. the dark wood of antiques, the exposed beams, the precious materials all concur to create a warm, welcoming and extremely relaxing ambiance.
Borgo Pretale also hosts a restaurant. Renown for the quality and variety of its culinary proposals all prepared exclusively with seasonal products and inspired by traditional dishes. The restaurant is composed of two rooms, an inner one warm and cosy and a veranda conservatory, while during summer dinner is served on the large terrace opened over the hills, vineyards and woods.
The vast wine list is up to the gastronomic proposal: all the classical label of Tuscany are to be found in it, but ample space is also given to the emerging young producers more attentive to quality products and modern techniques.
Available to the guests is the choice between the half board formula or the à la carte service.
Borgo Pretale offers large spaces and opportunities for their free time in the open air, surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of the sienese hills. The choice goes from the swimming pool (open from june to september and providing bar service and buffet luncheons), to the tennis court (in synthetic grass), from the gymnasium to the sauna and lanes in the woods for strolls in the shade or rides in mountain bikes (provided by the hotel).
For those small meetings and work seminars is available at Borgo Pretale a pleasant meeting room. Facilities: large TV screen, VHS, overhead and slide projector, screen, direct telephone line and internet access. On request any other technical requirement can be arranged.
A little bit of history - It was in the XI century that a first settlement took place in Borgo Pretale when, amongst the woods of the Montagnola Senese, a tall stone tower was built. Although its primary purpose was that of an outpost to control the surrounding territory, its closeness to the medieval Via Francigena undoubtly let it to be used as refuge and resting place for the pilgrims on their journey to Rome. The building was later on widened and the previous wooden shacks standing at its feet were turned into proper houses until, in the early 1200, it became a proper borough, lived in by stonemasons and quarry labourers working in the several quarries dotting the area and providing materials for the Duomo of Siena's building site. The years between 1100 and the end of 1400 were theatre of great political changes and dramatic social events; hamlets and large villages alike were often abandoned because of the plague or military invasion and subsequently reoccupied and again abandoned when the economic patterns switched to other resources. That happened also to Borgo Pretale.
The theories upon the origin of the name are several. The most credited suggests the name derives from "pietrale" connected to the presence of the stone (pietra) workers; the most poetical one suggests it originated from the fact the ancient tower hosted some priests (preti) from the Diocesis of Volterra; a third one, more simply, indicates it derives from the latin "partum" (field).

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