Columnists From Italy

"(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"

"It is clear that in my life there are contradictions. There is a contrast between my work life and my family life and that of my partner. Whoever criticizes me has his reasons. I cannot have credibility in the eyes of everyone, but in the end, I am more normal than I look.... The altered reality, the yacht, is much photographed, as well as formal situations in which I accompany Pierre because I’m his partner and should be at his side. But then there is another reality that no one tells. I never go out, I’m always at home in the evening. I have dinner, watch a movie, and go to sleep. If Pierre is not there, it is mostly my friends who keep me company. And I live in Milan, not Monte Carlo."

"This is where the Mafia stockpiles heroin for basically the whole of Europe. It is the place drug dealers go to buy drugs, not normal people. The life of children there is insane. They get recruited very early on, when they are 12 or 13. They turn into lookouts, hide drugs, transport drugs and there is absolutely nothing that saves them."

"My film is called Never Children [in Italian, Bambini Mai] because they have no chance of living as children. If they go outdoors, there are shootings, drug-related crimes of every kind, and a network of pedophiles operating in that neighborhood. There were 12 cases in the last two years, and two children died because of that. It’s just a nightmare of a place for someone to be a child."

"I want to find a job to be proud of. One of those jobs you're standing up to at four in the morning because you don't feel like quitting."

"He sails on the GC32s, the fastest boats in the world that are the same boats used in the America’s Cup. Now he’s opened a medieval combat club so he does medieval combat. In the end, we look at each other and say, ‘We’re just going to have to accept who we are and pray.'"

"I remember that when on Anno Zero, [Michele] Santoro chose Beatrice Borromeo, beautiful and blonde, they all criticized her. She was not human that could be [beautiful and] intelligent too. Today, after graduating in Italy and in two months at Columbia University, if they do not to say congratulations, a dignified silence, at the very least."

"Worst case scenario — they slap you and break your camera. It’s not really a life-threatening type of situation. It’s not as though all of a sudden it’s super-dangerous. You know what you’re doing and then you decide to take the risk or not. Last year I didn’t want to take too many because I was pregnant."

"The Church no, I do not like it. [The Pope] intervenes in politics, in things that do not concern him. He did damage that could not be worse than this."

"He is not a Pope, he is a theologian. I do not like him. He has no humanity. It has pissed off the whole Islamic world."

"Politics is something you choose. And you also choose your lifestyle. But you don't choose your belonging to a class."

"Mussolini insists on keeping the memory of her grandfather high. Impossible business. She would do better to distance herself, both politically and humanly."

"There is no limit to evil, but Bossi is the limit of what can be ugly in the world."