Mario Mediati

Mario Mediati is the author of Stupido Turista and Stupido Turista Returns: A Product of Italy, the first two books in the Stupido Turista series.

The son of Calabrian immigrants, Mario grew up between two worlds: the rhythms of Southern Italy at home and the relentless pace of American ambition outside. After a long career as a sales executive in consumer packaged goods, he turned to fiction to tell the story that had been quietly forming his whole life, a story about family, food, memory, and the joy and ache of belonging to two places at once.

Mario lives in the American Southwest with his wife. They have three grown children, who have inherited his love of all things Italian, whether they wanted to or not. The family is rounded out by Sophie, a Pekingese who is every bit as extraordinary as her fictional counterpart, Biscotti.