Massimo Franco

"(About Susanna Agnelli) She has always been the least Turinese member of the Agnelli family and, one might add, the most public."

"Susanna Agnelli, known as ‘Suni’, a nickname that always sounded terribly snobbish simply because she bore it, has always remained a mysterious woman: paradoxically, aloof. A tall, imposing figure with an ironic smile and an equally ironic gaze, little is known about her private life, her children or her friends. She was a sort of manifesto for silent female emancipation. But never, at heart, ostentatious; and perhaps she paid dearly for it."

"This book is about a survivor: of two world wars, seven popes, the monarchy, fascism, the First Republic and perhaps even the Second, if it is true that it is in crisis. And of six trials for mafia association and murder. It is the biography of a protagonist and witness who is quite unique in the Italian landscape: a friend of popes, heads of state, nuns, beggars, bankrupts, saints, dictators, actresses, emirs, painters, footballers, thieves and mafia colluders. A former powerful figure who is difficult to define as ‘former’, and about whom the younger generations know little and the older ones think they know (almost) everything, even if this is not true."

"Andreotti dreamed of a ‘Christian’ cinema that would compensate for the cultural primacy of the communists. Following his inclination towards concrete things, he listed the box office takings of Roman cinemas for the screening of the film [Gli uomini non guardano il cielo] on the life of Pius X, and compared them with the much higher takings of Siamo tutti assassini. He concluded that films about popes were not ‘box office hits’ even for Roman Catholics, who were supposed to be pious. (p. 51)"

"[...] as Minister of Finance, [Andreotti] had intervened to have a poster changed in which Anna Magnani was dressed as a nun. The problem was called Pascalina Lehnert. Sister Pascalina, who was a kind of ‘housekeeper’ to the Pope, belonged to the order of Franciscan Missionary Sisters, who considered their habit to be ‘desecrated’ by the poster. The poster was changed and some scenes from the film [Suor Letizia] were reshot. Sister Pascalina had won, and Andreotti had earned himself extra credit with Pius XII. (p. 52)"

"Massimo Franco, Andreotti. , Oscar Mondadori, Milano, 2010. ISBN 978-88-04-59563-2"