Hotel Borgo Pretale Siena Chianti Geografico Tuscany Welcome to Italy Gallery

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).