Under the Tuscan Thumb

Not every straniero who moves to Italy from another country to renovate a historic ruin has a romantic success story to tell. This is the gritty, painful tale of a British-American expat who takes on the Italian bureaucracy in the midst of an economic crisis and has a crash of his own. Even in the face of bad fortune and bad decisions, the author's love of Italy keeps bursting through. Italian drivers and a perplexing language can't stifle Jim's love of the food, the people, the landscape, and the culture. A love/hate relationship, humorously and poignantly told, this is a must-read for all lovers of Italy, and a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of building their dream home there.