I know that theater people often have very simplistic view of politics and tend to express very black and white patriotic sentiments but perhaps that is because we know the value of illusion, how it can help strengthen the weak, and stimulate the weary.

It's hard for other people to realize just how easily we Florentines live with that past in our hearts and minds because it surrounds us in a very real way. To most people, the Renaissance is a few paintings on a gallery wall; to us it is more than an environment - it's an entire culture, a way of life.

I have always believed that opera is a planet where the muses work together, join hands and celebrate all the arts.

The people are represented in Parliament. Therefore parliamentarians are not party delegates but representatives of the people elected on a party ticket, which is different.

Politics is not a career. Politics is a service, a mission. If I am to choose between a decision that will lengthen my political career and a decision in the interest of the people, I will always choose the people’s interests before my own.

To live happily with other people, ask of them only what they can give.