Gianni Morandi

"(Speaking of Giorgio Gaber) I could have stolen his place when Mina's manager suggested I do a theater season with her. But he did that tour, and that's where he decided to devote himself to theater. I also tried my hand at theater in the early 1970s with ‘'Jacopone’', a rock opera that turned out to be a bit of a disaster. But Giorgio helped me out on that occasion too, telling me how to streamline the show. However, his shows were something else. I was amazed, noticing that he was growing more and more, becoming a true man of the theater. And watching people go crazy for him, even when he was alone on stage for two hours, was a lesson for me. Because he had clearly found the right key to success: with content, but not only that."

"I must say that there, in front of the grotto (of Lourdes), you feel something that I don't quite know how to define, something great, mysterious, indescribable."

"He is the man of clean soccer, of soccer where the best player wins and not those who use other means. This is precisely why he arouses so much interest. Celentano causes quite a stir with his outbursts, a bit like Zeman. I don't know which of the two took after the other! Anyway, yes, they are two characters who can be compared, two people who stand out from the crowd, difficult to imitate and match. I'm happy to see Zeman back in Serie A, he plays good soccer: to think that a few years ago they wanted him for the Bologna bench, but then nothing came of it."

"I took a tour of the city. Maybe I've already said this, but I'll say it again: Palermo is magnificent, surprising, full of art and history; it's a city unlike any other in the world."

"I like Renato Zero because he's talented, beyond all appearances, which are only superficial. Behind his slightly crazy persona are beautiful songs, which he sings well. My children are crazy about him, as all children are, and I think that's right, because Renato is ‘real’, he's ‘right’. I've known him for many years and he's always been like that."

"(With the sick in Lourdes) I felt very fragile and also stupid, full of useless vices."

"Mina has gone through these forty years with a soundtrack that has accompanied the changes in customs and history of our country, almost like a continuous reference, like a positive Italy that comes through music."

"Every now and then I look at my children and other young people and I feel guilty: we have destroyed the environment and ideals. And even if we try to repair the damage, it remains."

"When I saw the pain of the people who were there in Lourdes, even my rock bottom seemed like paradise, because when you say “I've hit rock bottom,” you don't really realize what rock bottom really is!"

"I really like Totti: he is an extraordinary player who deserved the Ballon d'Or. It's also great that he wanted to stay with Roma for his entire career: anyone who loves soccer cannot help but love Totti."

"When we played with Led Zeppelin in Milan, on that disastrous evening, I felt like I was a hundred years old, surrounded by all those shirtless young guys who saw me as a wreck."

"Tognazzi always told me: Germi only made two bad films in his life: mine [‘'L'immotale’'] and yours [‘'Le castagne sono buone’']."

"It's hard for me to talk about him (Lucio Dalla), every corner of Bologna I turn, there's a memory of him. Just think, the last thing he did was Sanremo, he didn't want to, I almost blackmailed him. And then, 15 days later, he died."

"Everyone, young and old, still sings ‘'C'era un ragazzo’' (There was a boy), they know all the words. So, I relive my life and there are moments of great emotion, I find them again."

"Having him as a father is a blessing, but at the same time it casts a long shadow that is difficult to escape. He is everywhere."