All Quotes

"A slow start doesn't mean a lost race when you've got acceleration on your side."

"Indecision and inaction are the killers of all initiative."

"Stop trying to be everything to everyone. Just be the best thing to those who matter."

"It was a crucial negotiation, a truly significant founding act of the Second Republic for understanding what happened in those years and in the years that followed – to understand, step by step, Licio Gelli’s plan, the deals with Berlusconi, and the fact that there was no opposition in this country. Isn’t Matteo Renzi, too, simply the result of this agreement?"

"I wish I hadn’t spoken."

"It is a shameful and disconcerting fact. Why Nicola Mancino and others yes, but Giovanni Conso no? This completely undermines the credibility of the Palermo Public Prosecutor’s Office. Conso was the one who refused to extend 41 bis to mafia members in prison. [...] If there was a political plot, why is the very person who would have implemented it excluded from the trial? Instead, others are being put on trial and shadows are being cast over those who bear no responsibility. For example, Silvio Berlusconi and Dell’Utri have nothing to do with the alleged State-Mafia negotiations, which are said to have taken place in 1993–94 under the Amato and Ciampi governments, with Scalfaro acting as the chief orchestrator of this affair. It is on them that attention must be focused, not on others."

"I have focused my recollections on Schifani and spoke to the magistrates about him because even before the attack at the Olimpico I knew there were State-Mafia negotiations. When I saw Schifani on television and in political office, it occurred to me that he often frequented the warehouse in Brancaccio, Palermo, where Filippo Graviano used to stop for meetings. And I surmised that Schifani might have been the link in the negotiations."

"For Lupo and Fiandaca, that trial lacks any legal basis: for them, in fact, the negotiations were not only a legitimate initiative, but indeed a necessary, useful and beneficial one, safeguarding national security, as they were the means through which the State, at that precise historical moment, sought to preserve the lives of its citizens."

"Filippo Facci knows that "The Palermo Trial" will go nowhere. Filippo Facci knows that it is not true that Totò Riina wants Nino Di Matteo dead. Filippo Facci knows that there is now no trace left of the Corleonesi’s strategy of mass murder. Filippo Facci knows that anonymous sources, in a country that respects itself, should be discarded. Filippo Facci knows that any tightening of harsh prison conditions for mafia members would be dictated solely by the quest for image and credibility of the Palermo public prosecutors, who have now fallen on hard times."

""Alleged" – I call it "alleged" – negotiations between the State and the mafia."

"I hear talk of negotiations and I do not know if anyone sat down at the table with anyone else; I do know, however, that there was an objective capitulation by the State in the face of organised crime at the moment when, with my removal, we moved from one harsh prison regime to another, vastly softened one."

"The argument, of course, was that the trial should be moved to Rome; in fact, the judges decided it should remain in Palermo. As soon as it began, Fiandaca hastily wrote an "essay" with the historian Salvatore Lupo in which he retracted years of denial: having always referred to the negotiations as "so-called" and “alleged”, he admitted that "the negotiations did take place", but acquitted them on the grounds that they were "not criminally actionable" and "legally legitimate", inspired by a "state of necessity" and "for the greater good". That "good" which cost the lives of 16 people and the health of some forty others in the massacres of Via D’Amelio, Via dei Georgofili and Via Palestro. Collateral damage. And above all, no crime and no culprit."

"The negotiations are also a state of necessity for our ruling classes who, instead of waging war on organised crime to defeat it, tell you, ‘What, are you mad? They’ll start shooting again.” And it matters little that we have 350,000 armed men who could defeat the Camorra, ‘Ndrangheta and Mafia, which together have a maximum of 40,000 men. And so even today, the Italian system for combating organised crime consists solely of striking a deal."

""Alleged" is the word. Fiandaca speaks of "so-called negotiations" and "alleged negotiations". We’re off to a good start. The State-Mafia negotiations are indisputable in legal terms, as confirmed by final rulings of the Court of Cassation on the massacres of 1992–93, as well as by the direct protagonists and witnesses, not just Mafia members: Mori and De Donno state in their official records that there were ‘negotiations’ with the leaders of Cosa Nostra via Vito Ciancimino, and not merely a ‘first contact’, as Fiandaca has them saying. He needs to face facts: if he wants to talk about negotiations, he should at least read the judgments."

"Daddy Neptune one day to Freedom did say, If ever I live upon dry land, The spot I should hit on wou'd be little Britain! Says Freedom, "Why that's my own island!" O, it's a snug little island! A right little, tight little island, Search the globe round, none can be found So happy as this little island."

"Then a very great war man, call'd Billy the Norman, Cried "D--n it, I never lik'd my land.""

"The Dons came to plunder the island; But, snug in the hive, the Queen was alive, And "buzz" was the word in the island."

"Longing while living for laurel and bays, Under this willow a poor poet 'lays'; With little to censure, and less to praise, He wrote twelve dozen and three score plays: He finish'd his 'Life', and he went his ways."

"I'm not religious... I just love Jesus."

"I am the original!"

"Nakalimutan ko edad ko!"

"I believe that women have the right to choose between what they want. But for me, just go for what God wants you to do. Between the two, whatever it is, you must do what's your purpose in this world. Just have a child-like faith and mature obedience, and everything will go smooth."

"People often ask why I didn't stick to pharmacy—but I never left it. My background in science teaches me to be precise and compassionate, whether I'm formulating medicine or speaking up for causes I care about. You don't have to choose one path to make an impact."

"When I walked the Miss Universe stage, I wore my pharmacist license as proudly as my sash. Young girls need to see that beauty and brains aren't opposites—they're powerful partners. There's room for us in labs, in classrooms, and on every stage."

"Not everyone will understand your journey, and that's okay. The same way a prescription isn't one-size-fits-all, success looks different for every woman. Focus on healing, growing, and lifting others up along the way."

"Il prossimo è facile odiarlo, | se sei forte amalo | che a fare stragi siamo tutti Capaci."

"Per questi ragazzi non ci sarà scampo, | giocano alla mafia, "Mamma, vado in strada, sparo", | a trent'anni da Capaci, vedi, sarà strano | ma il modello è diventato Genny Savastano."

"I think the magistrates in Caltanissetta are prosecuting someone who likely played a minor role in the attack and who was only recently uncovered. But I don’t think this closes the chapter on the involvement of entities outside of Cosa Nostra. Just consider that Falcone traveled from Rome to Palermo on a small secret service plane. Who wanted to make his departure time from Rome known? Why wasn’t this line of inquiry pursued? I think Spatuzza is a good state witness, very honest, but I don’t think the TNT used in Capaci came solely from the shipment he mentions. What took place in Capaci was a military-style attack; specialized personnel were involved."

"Falcone and Borsellino? There lies the hand of Gladio and the CIA."

"The alliance between occult powers and the Mafia is the famous "big game" that Giovanni Falcone was working on. And for which he likely died: and the true masterminds behind the Capaci massacre, after all, were never found."

"Borsellino openly expressed his regret at never having been summoned to Caltanissetta. I heard him say so myself. He expected that his colleagues in Caltanissetta, who were investigating the Capaci massacre, would have wanted to hear from him to gather everything he knew—not least because, given his close friendship with Giovanni Falcone, he was in a position to point out some leads for the investigation. He even complained about it to a colleague assigned to Caltanissetta."

"Falcone and Borsellino? There is the hand of Gladio and the CIA behind that."

"I sempre più stanchi e retorici rituali delle commemorazioni ufficiali che si susseguono di anno in anno, anziché aiutare a fare memoria, alimentano l'effetto-melassa. Puntando tutto sull'agiografia dell'eroico giudice antimafia e nulla su quei particolari dei suoi ultimi giorni di vita che, presi uno per uno, non dicono nulla. Ma che composti nel mosaico cronologico aiutano a capire molto, se non tutto. E cioè la natura politico-terroristica della strage di via D'Amelio, con le peculiarità che la distinguono da quella di Capaci a dispetto della ravvicinata consecutio temporum, e la proiettano piuttosto su quello che accadrà molti mesi dopo: le bombe della primavera-estate del 1993 a Milano, Firenze e Roma e poi la «pax mafiosa» iniziata con il mancato (anzi, revocato) attentato allo stadio Olimpico della capitale, coincisa con la discesa in campo politico di Silvio Berlusconi e Marcello Dell'Utri, e proseguita fino ad oggi"

"I apologize to the victims’ families and to those who have been wronged. I have tried so many times to tell the truth. I have said that the ones who forced me to lie were La Barbera, Bo, Giampiero Valenti, and Mimmo Militello, and I am sorry because every time I am judged as the perpetrator. [...] I have always said that I know nothing about the massacre and that I was coerced into making those statements. Until my last breath, I will try to defend myself to dispel any doubt about the monstrosity they have pinned on me. [...] They have destroyed my life; I haven’t lived for 22 years, I am locked up in isolation, and I pray to God that the truth will come out. I was beaten in front of my children, and my wife even had a gun pointed at her."

"I didn’t even know where Via D’Amelio was. I spoke only out of fear: they tortured me, beat me, starved me. [...] To keep me from eating, they’d put flies in my pasta. Once in Pianosa I heard two guards talking... a guy with a mustache, a Sicilian sergeant, was saying to the other: “Piscia, piscia.” Once that sergeant even raised his hands against me. Another time, after I went to the dentist, they made me believe I had AIDS, when it was just a simple case of hepatitis."

"This is me! This is how I win."

"Holding up his right hand, [he] said: "This hand did I put to the plow and got my living by it many years. If it would have pleased Her Highness to have pardoned it and have taken my left hand, or my life, she had dealt more favorably with me, for now I have no means to live; but God, which is the father of us all, will provide for me. I beseech you all to pray for me that I may take this punishment patiently." And so [he] laid his hand upon the block and prayed the executioner quickly to dispatch him; and so at two blows his hand was smitten off, and so, lifting up the stump, [he] said to the people, "I have left there a true Englishman's hand," and so went from the scaffold very stoutly and with a very great courage."

"Gli attentati contro i giudici Falcone e Borsellino nel 1992 rappresentano una svolta nelle strategie criminali di Cosa nostra. La loro lettura non appare difficile: la mafia, che avverte un crescente isolamento, una più intensa pressione investigativa, attacca duramente le due persone più esposte nella lotta contro la criminalità. Gli attentati del 1993 sono di più difficile lettura, perché apparentemente non hanno dei precisi obiettivi "militari", non perseguono l'eliminazione fisica di soggetti pericolosi per l'organizzazione mafiosa. Perché questi attentati durante il governo Ciampi? Forse che con esso ogni aggancio è impossibile, irrecuperabile? È forse per questo che, con una strategia stragistica, si vuole dimostrare l'incapacità di controllo dell’Esecutivo sul territorio nazionale, e per tale via delegittimarlo?"

"Il mio governo fu contrassegnato dalle bombe. Ricordo [...] quel 27 luglio, avevo appena terminato una giornata durissima che si era conclusa positivamente con lo sblocco della vertenza degli autotrasportatori. Ero tutto contento, e me ne andavo a Santa Severa per qualche ora di riposo. Arrivai a tarda sera, e a mezzanotte mi informarono della bomba a Milano. Chiamai subito Palazzo Chigi, per parlare con Andrea Manzella che era il mio segretario generale. Mentre parlavamo al telefono, udimmo un boato fortissimo, in diretta: era l'esplosione della bomba di San Giorgio al Velabro. Andrea mi disse "Carlo, non capisco cosa sta succedendo...", ma non fece in tempo a finire, perché cadde la linea. Io richiamai subito, ma non ci fu verso: le comunicazioni erano misteriosamente interrotte. [...] ebbi paura che fossimo a un passo da un colpo di Stato. [...] corsi come un pazzo in macchina, e mi precipitai a Roma. Arrivai a Palazzo Chigi all'una e un quarto di notte, convocai un Consiglio supremo di difesa alle 3, perché ero convinto che lo Stato dovesse dare subito una risposta forte, immediata, visibile. Alle 4 parlai con Scalfaro al Quirinale, e gli dissi "presidente, dobbiamo reagire". Alle 8 del mattino riunii il Consiglio dei ministri, e subito dopo partii per Milano. Il golpe non ci fu, grazie a dio. Ma certo, su quella notte, sui giorni che la precedettero e la seguirono, resta un velo di mistero."

"Nel '93, Cosa nostra ebbe in subappalto una vera e propria strategia della tensione che ebbe nelle bombe di Roma, Milano e Firenze soltanto il suo momento più drammatico. [...] L'attentato al patrimonio artistico e culturale dello Stato assumeva una duplice finalità: orientare la situazione in atto in Sicilia verso una prospettiva indipendentista, sempre balzata fuori nei momenti critici della storia siciliana, e organizzare azioni criminose eclatanti che, sconvolgendo, avrebbero dato la possibilità ad un'entità esterna di proporsi come soluzione per poter riprendere in pugno l'intera situazione economica, politica, sociale, che veniva dalle macerie di Tangentopoli. [...] Certamente Cosa nostra, attraverso queste azioni criminali ha inteso agevolare l'avvento di nuove realtà politiche che potessero poi esaudire le sue richieste'"

"Paradossalmente, il clamore sanguinario della stagione stragista del '92-'93 segnò la sconfitta storica di Cosa Nostra."

"The democratic state, the state of human dignity, the state founded on the dignity of every person and which guarantees the dignity of every person, is a state in which every action is removed from arbitrariness and tyranny, in which every sphere of interest and power obeys a strict delimitation of justice, an objective criterion which is, by its very nature, liberating; it is a state in which public power itself takes the form, measure and limits of the law, and the law, as a general provision, is an act of clarity, an assumption of responsibility, a general and equal commitment. (from the speech delivered in Milan, 3 October 1959)"

"No one is called upon to choose between being in Europe and in the Mediterranean, since the whole of Europe lies within the Mediterranean."

"Everyone can make a difference, young and old through their own and simple ways."

"One is never too ordinary to be a hero."

"C'è un atto assolutamente pubblico, la requisitoria del pubblico ministero Luca Tescaroli al processo di appello per la strage di Capaci [...]: voi ricorderete che in quei 50 giorni saltarono in aria i due giudici più famosi d'Italia, a Palermo, cioè Falcone e Borsellino: intere autostrade sventrate, cioè una cosa mai vista; forse in Colombia. E questo pubblico ministero nella requisitoria ha sostenuto, ha ricordato, le parole di alcuni collaboratori di giustizia i quali sostengono che Totò Riina, prima di mettere a punto queste stragi, aveva incontrato alcune persone importanti, come le chiamava lui, e questi pentiti riferiscono che erano Berlusconi e Dell'Utri. [...] e altre indagini ci sono sulle stragi del '93, perché voi ricorderete che nel '93 ci fu quella replica, quando la mafia stranamente cominciò ad occuparsi del patrimonio artistico: cioè, la mafia uscì dal territorio siciliano e cominciò a mettre bombe agli Uffizi, a via Palestro a Milano e [...] a Roma, a San Giovanni in Laterano, per non parlare dell'attentato a Maurizio Costanzo, che è un altro caso clamoroso: è molto interessante, soltanto a livello cronologico, leggere quello che racconta Cartotto, e cioè che Maurizio Costanzo era uno, all'interno della Fininvest, ferocemente contrario alla nascita del partito della Fininvest, cioè alla "scesa in campo" della Fininvest in politica. Insomma, è un bel quadretto."

"Falcone and Borsellino were killed, with and through the mafia, at least with the active collaboration of an external entity. [...] These were certainly not merely mafia massacres. Indeed, based on the investigations, we should no longer even refer to them in this way. They were massacres carried out by an anti-state entity, which was—or perhaps still is—nestled within and against the state."

"Is this entity that ordered the massacres of ’92 and ’93 the same one that has always stepped in during periods of transition? Is it the same one behind Piazza Fontana and Piazza della Loggia, the attack on the Milan Police Headquarters by the anarchist Bertoli, and the Moro kidnapping? If not, it is unclear what power could have brought together, in all these bloody episodes, things as seemingly distant as right-wing extremism and the Red Brigades, the secret services and P2, the Banda della Magliana, and perhaps even elements of left-wing terrorism. This tangle of interests that intervenes every time to steer history through coups, through the violence of massacres, intervened [...] in ’92 and ’93, at the dawn of the Second Republic."

"Interviewer: Can what happened in ’92–’93 be defined as a kind of coup? Veltroni: In short, let’s be clear. Do you believe that Totò Riina was really the head of the Mafia? A Mafia that moves 130 billion euros a year? Do you believe that Riina or Provenzano had ever heard of the Velabro or the Georgofili in their lives? Is it conceivable that the Mafia, with its centuries-old codes, adopted the terrorist language of massacres for the first time since Portella della Ginestra without a strong, political reason? [...] Those were the days of Tangentopoli, the end of the parties of the First Republic, and the devaluation of the lira. We were emerging from that earthquake with the Ciampi government. Ciampi took office in April 1993. On May 27, there was the attack in Florence; on July 27, those in Milan and Rome. Then there was the failed attack at the Olympic Stadium [...]. And then the massacres ended. Why? There are two questions, and the answer, I fear, is one. Why did the Mafia start carrying out the massacres? Why did the Mafia stop carrying out the massacres?"

"Quippe de Saxonia quæ nunc uulgo Ealdsexe nuncupatur, id est 'Saxonia uetus', uenere tribus, quæ apud Anglos modo ita dicuntur, Eastsexan, et Suthsexan, et Westsexan...Anglia igitur de prouincia uenere iuxta Orientales Angli, Medii Angli, Mercii quoque, et tota gens Northanhymbrorum. Porro Anglia uetus sita est inter Saxones et Giotos, habens oppidum capitale, quod sermone Saxonico Slesuuic nuncupatur, secundum uero Danos, Haithaby. Ideoque Brittannia nunc Anglia appellatur, assumens nomen uictorum. Præfati enim duces eorum inde uenerunt Brittanniam primi: hoc est Hengest et Horsa filii Vuyhtelsi, auus eorum Vuicta, et proauus eorum Vuithar, atauus quidem eorum Vuothen, qui et rex multitudinis barbarorum. In tanta etenim seductione oppressi aquilonales increduli ut deum colunt usque in hodiernam diem, viz. Dani, Northmanni quoque, et Sueui...In tanta ergo fuisse perhibetur supra dictarum illa aduec-tio crescens, et nimium, ut et incolarum paulatim et habitationis nomen aboleuisset, qui cum muneribus eos traxere quondam gentium repentinæ. Magis stipendia poscunt; renuunt Brittanni; mouent arma; fit discordia nimis, et, ut ante præfati sumus, a finibus eos pellunt in arcta promontoria quædam, et ipsi possessores a mare ad mare usque in præsentem diem existunt. In nono etiam anno post euersionem Romæ a Gothis, relicti qui erant in Brittannia Romana ex gente, multiplices non ferentes gentium minas, scrobibus occultant thesau-rum, aliquam sibi futuram existimantes fortunam, quod illis post non accidit. Partem sumunt, in unda gregan-tur, dant uentum carinis, exules Gallias tenent partes."