Images via Pietro Columba’s Flickr.

Here at Siena Ristorante Toscana, we love Italian sundials, which remain very popular in Italy today.

In our mechanized and digitized world, they remind us of a time before the advent of the internet, when the rays of the sun and peels of a church bell were how you told time.

We recently came across these beautiful images of twentieth-century Italian sundials, called meridiane (meridiana is the singular) in Italian, from the word meridian, “the celestial meridian as the line crossed by the sun at noon; the point on this line where it is crossed by the sun or a star at its highest point.”

Enjoy the images! And please remember that Siena has new SUMMER HOURS.

Valid through Wednesday, May 20, 2013.

“Duckhorn… Merlot pioneer in Napa Valley.”
—Wine Spectator

Siena owners Stan and Debbie Adams and Chef Harvey Harris are thrilled to announce details for the Duckhorn Vineyards wine dinner to be held at Siena on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 6:30 p.m.

Duckhorn is widely considered to be one of the greatest producers of Merlot in the U.S. and its coveted bottles are among the best wines produced today in California.

Please join us for this unforgettable event! And please note that these dinners fill up fast. To ensure your reservation, please call (512) 349-7667‎ to reserve!

Click here to download a printable/PDF version of the menu.

an evening with
Duckhorn Vineyards
Wednesday, May 29, 6:30 p.m.
five wines – four courses
$79 per person
(not including tax and gratuity)

PLEASE CALL (512) 349-7667‎ TO RESERVE!

Valid through Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

The Palio held on July 2 is named Palio di Provenzano, in honour of the Madonna of Provenzano, who has a church in Siena. The Palio held on August 16 is named Palio dell’Assunta, in honour of the Assumption of Mary.

A magnificent pageant, the Corteo Storico, precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world.

The race itself, in which the jockeys ride bareback, circles the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of dirt has been laid, three times and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds. It is not uncommon for a few of the jockeys to be thrown off their horses while making the treacherous turns in the piazza, and indeed, it is not unusual to see unmounted horses finishing the race without their jockeys.

Click here to read more…

Please click here for our new Spring Menu 2013.

In the days leading up to the Palio, the city of Siena comes alive with eating, singing and dancing in the streets. The constant banging of drums and the cheers of contrade members echo throughout the Tuscan countryside. Nowhere is the spirit and passion of the Tuscan people more visible than at this time. Here at Siena Ristorante Toscana we strive to capture that moment, where friends, families and neighbors come together in a celebration of life, food and friendship.

—Chef Harvey

Thanks to everyone who came out to make last night’s sold-out Tenuta Sette Ponti dinner a SMASHING success!

If you’d like to obtain a high-resolution version of any of the photos, please feel free to email webmaster Jeremy by clicking here.

From left to right: wood-grilled scallop with blood orange ginger sauce and candied guanciale; rabbit terrine with pistachio, green fig, and mustard seed conserve; house-cured striped bass with apricot, toasted almond, fresh chive and red chili oil.

Bravo, Chef Harvey!

There’s a saying in Italian: di mamma ce n’è una sola (there’s only one mother in the world [for everyone]).

This Sunday, celebrate your mamma with classic Italian cuisine at Siena Ristorante Toscana.

Seatings beging at 11:30 a.m.

Click here for our Mother’s Day Menu.

Valid through Wednesday, May 8, 2013.