Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Insiders' Guides) by Dario Castagno, Robert Rodi Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Insiders' Guides)
Book Review: Totally Sun Burned
Summary: 1 Stars
I have met several from Italy, and many obviously being quite materialistic. I am about to visit the Tuscany region and have done enough homework as a tourist, but not this book. I am a US citizen much of my early life spent in China with a love of food. I have lived in paradise-like places in the US and metropolitan cities elsewhere. Unlike this author, I can say that American tourists are talkative but friendly. I wonder how he would perceive waves of Asian tourists who travel in motor coaches and carry umbrellas under his Tuscan sun? I would rather read Bill Bryson's well-written "Neither here nor there--travels in Europe" to see how irritating Europeans equally are, not to mention how so cheap the men there are and try to hit on you without meaning anything. It's just neither in the American or Asian culture.Book Review: A MUST have for your collection!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased a signed copy of this book from a small shop in Siena, Italy - I don't think I've ever laughed out loud from a book before, but this book had me in tears!!! His tales of his clients are priceless and he has such a great storytelling ability that you're just drawn right in! He also takes great care in explaining and portraying the Italian countryside and culture and you can clearly see his love for his country shine through in the book. Don't wait to buy this - I promise you'll love it!Book Review: A tongue-in-cheek rebuttal of the idyllic Tuscany painted by American authors and dreamers
Summary: 5 Stars
Dario Castagno is a born Tuscan. Raised in London until he was ten, Dario's fluency in English and love of Tuscany, including exploring abandoned farmhouses and villas like the one in Frances Mayes' "Under the Tuscan Sun" and his experiences working in a Chianti winery, led him to create Chianti Black Rooster Tours. Dario gives personalized tours of the Chianti region to groups up to six, and in "Too Much Tuscan Sun" he chronicles seasonal life in Tuscany, cultural gems, and the all-too-often bizarre and demanding American tourists that he is saddled with.
Dario wrote the book as a rebuttal of Frances Mayes and other American writers who paint a dreamy portrait of Tuscany peppered with the notion of "aren't the Tuscans backwards and quaint!" when they run into un-American customs or try to "act American" and are misunderstood. Dario offers a moving account of the Palio and tragic events in WWII Italy, misunderstandings with Americans as presented by the Italian point of view, and an eye-opening chapter on the death penalty in America as reported by Italian media.
The book is arranged chronologically over the course of a year from February to December, with various interludes thrown in. Dario paints a lyrical picture of the various seasonal changes that occur in Tuscany's gardens and landscapes, the power of a passing thunderstorm, and the bounty of crops each season yields, along with mouthwatering descriptions of local Tuscan cuisine. Mixed in are remembrances of his rebellious psychedelic teenage years in Tuscany and earlier (brief) encounters with American college students studying abroad in Italy.
The bulk of the book is devoted to poking fun at the obnoxious stereotypical American tourists that booked Dario's tours: yelling as though Dario can't understand English, wearing large, gaudy, flashy jewelry, leopard prints and stiletto heels for sightseeing in the country, asking why Italians are speaking Italian (!), only eating at McDonald's because Italians can't cook Italian food like they do in America, claiming that caffe lattes and pizza are American culinary creations that the Italians confiscated, refusing to walk anywhere on a walking tour...the list goes on. There are several couples that are presented as happy, easygoing, and well adjusted, but overall the book tends to paint a negative picture of the American (and Canadian!) tourist in Tuscany. Although it reads humorously, it felt nigh stereotypical, but understandably; others of lesser means who may be more in tune with Italian culture probably can't afford to hire Dario and travel Italy in five-star hotels.
A very engaging read, but if Dario pens a sequel, please make it the adventures you've had with laid-back, adventurous, polite Americans who enjoy throwing themselves into Italian language and culture. I felt as though I were being punished via the hoards of loud, barbaric, stereotypical American tourists when, in fact, I can understand some Italian (I regularly listen to Italian pop music), I love to walk everywhere, and can deal with any change in plans with grace and enthusiasm. As a language- and culture-conscious tourist, I felt woefully underrepresented, but enjoyed Dario's in-depth cultural and gastronomic tour of Tuscany immensely (although I lived in Spain on two occasions, I've yet to visit Italy) and hope to one day tour the marvels of Tuscany for myself.
Book Review: For travelers with a sense of humor!
Summary: 5 Stars
Great read while you're on your flight to Italy!
While Frances Mayes made her fortune on the desire that is in all of us to go back to a time when things were simpler, life was slower, food was more natural, and the environment around us more healthy overall, Dario's book is more of a collection of experiences being a tourguide and with the expectations the travelers he leads have of Italy. Dario is candid and genuine, you'll see an insider's perspective on foreign visitors who come to Italy each year.
Dario seems to have a lot more compassion for those who truly want to find what the lifestyle is like, not if that lifestyle corresponds to their idea of it. I am from Firenze (Florence), Tuscany and lead small groups there every year to give them "my" version of Tuscany - the more familiar, less touristic view of this wonderful region, and every time I go people don't fail to mention Mayes' book. I, instead, tell them about Dario's. The truth of the matter is that living in a place is different than just reading a book about a rich woman who didn't need to worry about finding a job and had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted.
Dario's book is a more humble, genuine view of what to expect and what not to expect from a trip to Tuscany.
[...]
Book Review: Dario's Love Affair with Tuscano
Summary: 3 Stars
This summer, I saw this book neatly stacked for sale in a wine store in the hill town of Montalcino in Tuscany. Knowing full well that I could get the book at a better price on the Amazon marketplace, I waited until I returned home to place my order. Unfortunately, Katrina's wrath swamped the city of New Orleans and I didn't receive the book until recently. However, seeing the beauty of Italy through private tour guide, Dario's eyes from a time lapse of four months and through the filter of such devestation, enhanced, for me, the book's quiet appeal
As many other reviewers have pointed out, Dario doesn't suffer foreign fools too well, and why should he? His obvious love of his own culture with its sumptions rustic 5 course lunches swathed in a sweet elixir of a fine Classico Chianti or famed Barbi Brunello set against the rolling golden landscape of cypresses, olive groves, vineyards, simple churches and stone farmhouses, speaks for itself. Why, Dario wonders, would foreign tourists, especially American tourists, want to come to Italy and not become Italian for the duration of their trip? Why drink Diet Coke when the fruit of the Sangiovese grapes is at hand? Why hire a guide, if you don't want to visit the area's monasteries, walk its medieval towns or hear of the famous Sienese Palio?
The book, therefore is a collection of recollection. To some, his bewilderment over the lack of excitement displayed with regard to his home and his criticism of the various types encountered during such head-scratching moments, may seem judgemental and anti-American. To others, like myself, Dario will become the quintessential Italian, living in paradise and like the pre-apple Adam, just wanting to share and expecting only an exchange of simple enthusiasm for his introduction to Eden.
In addition to his anecdotes, which intially seem sophomoric until one acquaints oneself with his simplistic style, one can glean some interesting tips on the lifestyle in Tuscany and very defintitely can accumulate enough ideas to create a very special itinerary of one's own of the place's lovely sites.
All in all, the book is a pleasant read, one that replenishes the memory with mind pictures of the Tuscan landscape, the mouth with the crunch or crostini and the earthy taste of that wonderful bean soup at Taverna dei Barbi and the soul with the balm of tradition and culture that abides in each of the farmhouses seen from the road.