"The Waldensian Trunk" - A Review of Dario Castagno's book

November 2020 \\ Erica Scroppo

Dario Castagno, The Waldensian Trunk.

Dario Castagno lives in the countryside in Tuscany, near Siena. Apart from writing and producing his own wine and olive oil, he takes small groups of tourists, mainly Americans, around his favourite spots in the Chianti area. 

The Covid lockdown breaks his routine and to keep sane he starts cleaning and tidying up the farmhouse where he lives with his beloved English Setter. In the process he suddenly remembers that he has never opened the old trunk inherited from his grandmother and on which he had put the television set on the day he moved in. Having now all the possible time to check if there might be anything interesting inside, he opens it and…

Like a genie…the trunk is a revelation! Not just for its amazing contents of old photographs, letters, documents but for what it tells Dario about his family, their origins, and his belonging to some very prominent members of the Waldensian Church and community. These were  in turn  descended from those Waldensians who for nearly 850 years fought for their right to witness and preach the true Gospel, were bitterly persecuted for many centuries as heretics and discriminated against down to  recent times.

Dario has knitted together the results of his researches in the archives of the Waldensian Church in Florence and in the main Waldensian Archives in Torre Pellice along with family snippets and some Waldensian History going back to   the Middle Ages! - and all in a very engaging  and readable way.

The book can be purchased via Amazon in either paperback or Kindle format.

By using the link on this page to purchase it, you will also benefit the work of the Waldensian Church Missions.

www.dariocastagno.com