Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Insiders' Guides) (Paperback)

~ Dario Castagno (Author), Robert Rodi (Author) "I confess at the outset I'm not a native-born chiantigiano: I was born in England..." (more)
Key Phrases: vin santo, Miss Morrison, United States, Diet Coke (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Unlike Under the Tuscan Sun and the flood of cookbooks touting the delights of the Tuscan table, this endearing, lightweight memoir was written by a native of the area. The author recounts the history and character of Chianti—the famous wine region at Tuscany's geographic and cultural heart—and shares his most unforgettable experiences working as a Chianti tour guide for more than 12 years. Raised in Britain, Castagno began exploring Chianti's countryside as a teenager and fell in love with its dilapidated farmhouses, abandoned in Italy's post-WWII period of industrialization; for him, their stone walls, terracotta roofs and chestnut beams formed "well nigh irresistible" windows into Tuscany's romantic past. As a guide, he shared these journeys with his clients, most of them Americans, including T.T., an overly curious businessman for whom a winery visit "was like taking a child to a chocolate factory"; and an Alabama couple who, sweetly, tried to set Castagno up with their daughter. The farmhouses were also the site of Castagno's startling encounter with a couple of teenage artists and subsequent discovery about Tonio, a local, 94-year-old love machine. Castagno delivers his life story in simple, honest, heartfelt terms, though, unfortunately for readers, there are few true surprises or insights. It's brain candy to be enjoyed with a bottle of red.
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Product Description

Over the past several years, "the American in Tuscany" has become a literary subgenre. Launched by the phenomenal success of Frances Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun, bookstores now burgeon with nimble, witty accounts of this clash in cultures-Americans trying to do American things in Italy and bumping against a brick wall of tradition.

Before this subgenre exhausts itself, it's only fair that we hear the other side of the story-that of a native Tuscan and of dozens of Americans who have stormed through his life and homeland, determined to find in it whatever they are looking for, whether quaintness or wisdom, submission or direction.

There is no one better to provide this view than Dario Castagno. A Tuscan guide whose client base is predominantly American, Dario has spent more than a decade taking individuals and small groups on customized tours through the Chianti region of Tuscany. Reared in Britain through early childhood, he speaks English fluently and is therefore capable of fully engaging his American clients and getting to know them. Too Much Tuscan Sun is Dario's account of some of his more remarkable customers, from the obsessive and the oblivious to the downright lunatic.

It is also a primer on Tuscany--its charms and its culture. Structured around a typical Tuscan year, Dario takes us through the sights, smells, and sounds of Chianti during each of the twelve months, including the festivities and pageantry that accord with the season, most notable the Palio-the bareback horse race that consumes the social energies of the people of Siena for all of July and August.

Dario also intersperses an account of his own life and times-that of a transplanted British "little lord" who learns to love the wilds of Chianti; of his discovery and adoption of abandoned peasant farmhouses; of his apprenticeship in the wine industry; and of his arduous transformation from bohemian layabout to thriving Tuscan guide.

But the bulk of the book is devoted, with humor and affection, to the Americans he has met-the vain, the silly, the ignorant, the ambitious, the horny, the condescending, the charming, and the outright pathological. Some of them have made his life hell and live in his nightmares; others became lifelong friends.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; 1st edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762736704
• ISBN-13: 978-1863255073
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #361,517 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dario's Tuscany, February 23, 2005

By	E. Craig - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Look, the fact is that the majority of Americans, when they think about Tuscany, see it as a prestigious place filled with great food, views, and shopping - and a place which they can use to impress friends and relatives with stories of being in Tuscany. Now, I will freely admit: Tuscany does have great food and views. And shopping if you're into that. But when Dario says "Too much Tuscan Sun", he's saying "too much hype, let me show you the real Tuscany."

I travel to Italy every year to visit friends and family. I'm proud to be an American. However, I will not deny that every year I encounter Americans who do not behave at their best when they are guests in another country. When in Rome, do as the Romans. Here in the States, we demand conformity of our foreign guests and we are incredulous if they exhibit the slightest "un-American" behavior.

After being entranced by Tuscany on two occasions, I read Mayes' book and watched the American cultural view of Tuscany crescendo. I was extremely off-put by the hype, and consequently have chosen, for the past 10 years, to avoid a Tuscany filled with loud, demanding tourists.

I had loved the magical Tuscany that Dario shows you - deserted white stone roads, fabulous trattorie, ruined castles, churches, villas where it is delicious to imagine them in their hey-day, hills that grow into mountains with villages tucked neatly within, vineyards, active farms and olive groves.

I'm actually considering going back, having fallen for Tuscany once again.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book - I did love it, April 12, 2005

By	Thomas B. Gross (Winchester, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

I haven't read any of Frances Mayes' books, but my native Italian wife has, and she liked those well-enough that we have visited Cortona. I picked up this book because I thought the title was funny and I enjoy reading books like Beppe Severgnini's "Ciao America", another book written by an Italian about those crazy Americans.

Dario Castagno's book is not nearly as caustic as I had been lead to believe by the jacket blurb, as well as some of the previous Amazon reviews, and the title itself. It wasn't until I reached his chapter explaining the process behind the Palio that I really began to appreciate "Too Much Tuscan Sun" for what it is: a book written for Americans by a native Sienese.

There are a few entertaining anecdotes throughout the book about some of the weird American tourists he has met, but the funny stories he tells about American tourists say as much about him as they do about any of his clients.

A certain percentage of his clients appear to be people looking for a broad introduction to Italy who really ought to be just following the latest edition of Frommer's Italy (which is a guidebook I still use and rely on) rather than hiring a local guide to show them the more obscure sites that mean something to him personally.

I have been to a number of the tourist sites that Dario mentions as frequent stops on his tours, and I think that may help my appreciation of this book. For example, I would never dream of taking an elderly person to see Monte Oliveto Maggiore, because there is a long walk downhill to the monastery from the parking lot. Yet Dario tells the tale of trying to bring a busload of 20 elderly American tourists with predictably disastrous results.

He also doesn't seem to understand that if two couples are calling him every 30 minutes with questions the night before a tour and leaving him waiting in the hotel lobby in the morning it's probably because one or both of those couples are engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the privacy of their hotel rooms, trying to decide how they are going to spend the remaining days of their relaxing Italian sojourn.

I myself have been escorted by Italians to see recently excavated Etruscan ruins, and while Etruscan ruins may be especially thought-provoking to an Italian, I can understand why an American tourist might not find them quite so fascinating.

I have also, personally consumed a lot of Diet Coke in Italy, and I found the number of times this American habit is mentioned to be hilarious (I think it has something to do with the fact that Americans, like me, are accustomed to drinking more liquid throughout the day, and we are trying NOT to gain TOO much weight when we are in Italy).

But the main value of this book is the way it tries to communicate to Americans what an Italian really loves about his country, and what he finds particularly interesting about American culture. I greatly appreciate his chapter on capital punishment, which I had previously recognized as probably the most bizarre aspect of American life, from the point-of-view of an Italian.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, easy read. Very funny., January 3, 2005

By	L. Hewitt (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Maybe you have to know Dario to understand the quips and subtleties of this fun and easy-to-read jaunt through Tuscany. In contrast to some of the reviews and as a paying customer of Dario, I found absolutely no insult in any of his anecdotes. Rather, many chuckles at the foibles and eccentricities of fellow travelers. Plus, many remembrances of unique experiences he offers as a guide when we visit his corner of the world. This book is very funny and a great, quick read. A definite must-read for any Tuscan enthusiast.