Pinturicchio at Pretaccione, Castelnuovo Berardenga - Siena

Podere Pretaccione, 1000 year old, was once the home of itinerant priests. Located in the heart of the Chianti Classico wine region, Pretaccione provides a restful, rural setting just 20 minutes from historic Siena. The main building has been carefully restored into eight spacious apartments, each comfortably furnished in keeping with the terracotta floors, stone archways and beamed ceilings. A large swimming pool and tennis court with garden furniture are set on a lawned terrace just below the farmhouse.  The ancient stone patios provide expansive views of the Arbie River as it winds through the valley toward Siena.

The houses all have private gardens with terraces furnished with tables and chairs for al fresco eating. The pretty village of San Sano, 4km away, boasts an excellent country style restaurant and a small grocery store with a bar.
Pretaccione is on the property of the Dievole Winery and spa, a short drive or a healthy walk up a country road. Visitors are always welcome for wine tastings and special dinners at the winery.

The house is entered through its own private courtyard garden, landscaped with rose bushes and rosemary and containing a dining table and chairs for dining out of doors. This private courtyard is equipped with a sunshade, a table and chairs for al fresco dining, and a barbecue. The large living area with open fireplace has terracotta floors and high ceilings, as do all the rooms in the house. There is a comfortable sofa, satellite television with CD and DVD facilities, as well as a cosy armchair with footrest, which can be converted into a spare bed for a guest.

Down three steps through a grand archway lies the large, fully-equipped kitchen, which includes an electric oven and hob with four burners, a refrigerator, toaster, coffee maker and dish washer beneath a polished granite top. It is furnished with a Tuscan oak dining table and chairs suitable for 8 people, as well as with another comfortable reading chair next to the door opening out onto the courtyard garden.

At the end of the hallway leading from the living area is the generously-proportioned master bedroom with a door window opening onto a path private to the villa, on the other side of the path there is the garden of the neighbouring villa. The room is furnished with a hand-made double bed frame with orthopaedic mattress, two bedside tables, a triple wardrobe and a writing/dressing table. Its large bathroom located next door contains a tub and a separate shower nestled in a brick and stucco archway.

In the second bedroom there is a double wardrobe, dressing table, bedside table and the hand-made iron bed frames of the twin beds, also equipped with orthopaedic mattresses, which can be made up as a king-sized bed, if desired. This room has high ceiling windows that look out onto a path private to the villa, beyond is the garden of a neighbouring villa. This bedroom opens onto a landing that leads to a separate bath and shower.

Returning to the courtyard garden, one walks through a porte-cochere out to a landscaped garden with a terrace under a pergola. The terrace looks out to the south over the vineyard and rolling hills that tumble down the valley towards Siena and it is furnished with additional chairs as well as a table for drinks and reading materials. The courtyard garden is closed in without views while the terrace under a pergola is open with views.

Pinturicchio is the home of a semi-retired art historian who has decorated it with original prints and reproductions of Italian paintings from the National Gallery in London.

The fenced swimming pool is 14 meters x 5.5 meters and 1.30 - 2.30 meters deep. It is open from Easter to October. Lawned terraces offer plenty of open space around the pool area, there is a terracotta pool-surround terrace furnished with comfortable sunbeds, this area south facing and enjoys full sun.

Pretaccione has a full-size, concrete based tennis court that is situated in the gardens near the pool. The court is in an open position - perfect for working on your game whilest enjoying the views of the Siena hills, after you can take a dip in the pool and bask in the Tuscan sunshine on the furnished terrace.