Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide

by Dario Castagno, Robert Rodi

Overview

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. Too Much Tuscan Sun is Dario's, a Tuscan guide whose client base is predominantly American, account of some of his more remarkable customers, from the obsessive and the oblivious to the downright lunatic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762751617
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	385,186
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dario Castagno was born in England to Italian parents and moved with his family to Tuscany when he was ten. Through his company, Chianti Rooster Tours, he has guided small groups of visitors--mostly Americans--to his favorite spots in the Chianti region for more than ten years. This is his first book. Perhaps his proudest accomplishment, however, is claiming membership in Siena's Caterpillar contrada, which won the Palio in 2003.

Table of Contents

(1) Ringraziamenti (2) Introduction: Americans through Tuscan Eyes (3) Discovering Chianti (4) January and the Athletes (5) Chianti and "Chianti" (6) February and the Honeymooners (7) Cradle of Genius (8) March and the Oenophile (9) Fosco's House (10) April and the Know-it-alls (11) Love Among the Ruins (12) May and the Collector (13) Intervallo: The Dutch (14) The Black Rooster (15) The First Excursion (16) July and the Palio (17) Us versus Them (18) August and the Lovers (19) Intervallo: The American Caterpillar (20) Playing Offense (21) September and the Timekeeper (22) Strangers in a Strange Land (23) October and the Coach Tour (24) Intervallo: Death and Life in America (25) November and the Devoted Mother (26) All About Babs (27) December with the College Student (28) The Tour That Wasn't (29) Intervallo: From the Other Side of the Van (30) Conclusion: La Macia