I felt like an extraordinary hero. I was only five or six and I had the whole of life in my hands. Even if I had been driving the carriage of the sun I could not have felt any better.

All forms of power - even based on the consensus of the democratic system - react when they are being attacked, or when those who exercise power become a target.

For some time it's been my habit to use images when preparing a speech: rather than write it down, I illustrate it.

Even before Europe was united in an economic level or was conceived at the level of economic interests and trade, it was culture that united all the countries of Europe. The arts, literature, music are the connecting link of Europe.

We thought the church had withdrawn from interfering in Italian politics... but instead there is a terrible resurgence. These are ugly signs for freedom of expression.

I'm not afraid of death, but I'm not courting it, either. If you have lived well, it is the fair conclusion to life.