The restaurant premises are to be found at street level in the cellar of one of the oldest palazzi on the Campo square.  It stands right on the corner of Bocca del Casato where the Historical Procession enters the Campo.  Its position below the Town Hall and the marvellous Mangia Tower provides the most evocative view of the square.  The building dates from 1200 in its oldest part while the part next to Chiasso del Bargello was built around 1400.  There is no certain evidence regarding the palazzo’s original purpose.  Some sources mention the seat of the Lawyer’s Guild while other signs on the lower floor would suggest the Casa del Boia (the Executioner’s house).  The refined purity of the medieval construction has been reclaimed and exploited by the recent restoration of the premises in 1990.  The work of experienced Sienese builders and the expert hand of a nationally famous restorer have achieved results of great architectural merit.  The magnificent vaulted brick roofs and arches are enhanced within the sobriety of the building’s structural contours.  The Tuscan tiled floor and the artful positioning of lights lends the space a warm tone of familiarity together with the austerity of the past.

The Jewels
The restaurant’s true “jewel” is its “Pozzo di butto”,  a well dating back to about 1200.  Located at the far end of the dining-room,  it is a pit about 4 m wide and 12m deep dug out of the tufa,  covered with an iron grating and lit to extraordinary effect.  Centuries of life’s detritus has accumulated inside the well:  the dusty remains of long extinct lives and history once more brought to light.  Amongst these is a pre-15th century stone capital that has been put to use as the plinth for the restaurant’s symbol;  a great medieval sword that dominates a wall from behind plate glass.  Also restored and re-opened is a precipitous staircase leading directly to the “Bargello”,  a steep alleyway unique for the view it offers of the Mangia Tower and for the many superstitions that surround it.  Of further interest is the remains of a fresco dating from around 1500 and the stone tablet outside inscribed with verses from Dante Alighieri’s Purgatory (XI 134-135)  “any hidden disgrace shall be freely manifested in the Campo of Siena”,  this refers to Provenzano Salvani,  a Sienese hero of the 1260 Battle of Monteaperti,  and records an episode that presumably took place right in front of the present Restaurant.

The Restaurant
Outside tables seating 65 guests placed right on the stones of the Campo,  or on the days of the Palio,  on the tufa of the race track itself,  offer an absolutely exclusive location.  Inside is a dining-room accommodating 40 guests with tables arranged by the large windows that afford a unique view of the Campo.  Next to this is a charming,  smaller dining-room with 24 seats.  Another more private dining-room with magnificent brick and stone arches and walls offers intimacy and discretion for 36 guests.  Finally,  under the wide vault of the main dining-room are another 60 seats especially suitable for ceremonies and banquets.