Wisdom can come from many different sources. (“If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful.”) Se non hai mai pianto, i tuoi occhi non possono essere belli. Talking about his experience as a survivor of a concentration camp, he underlines the importance of remembering and studying the absurd tragedies of the past. (“If understanding is impossible, knowing is necessary.”)Īnd from the same historic time-the aftermath of WWII-comes another memorable quote, this time from the novel Se questo è un uomo (“If This is a Man”) by Primo Levi. Se comprendere è impossibile, conoscere è necessario. But the quote gains significance when we talk about freedom, one of the vital elements of life, just like air. His quote is true of many things: you miss them when they’re gone. Next is the jurist Piero Calamandrei, one of the most prominent protagonists of la Resistenza (“the Resistance”). (“Freedom is like air: you realize its value only when you miss it.”) La libertà è come l’aria: ci si accorge di quanto vale quando comincia a mancare. He probably had no idea that this concept would be used five centuries later by managers and marketers all over the world, all agreeing with the advantage of turning problems into opportunities. Galileo Galilei, another great scientific and philosophical mind of the Renaissance, brought us this very modern-sounding quote. (“Behind any problem, there is an opportunity.”) When talking about life and wisdom, it just makes sense that we quote one of the wisest, most intelligent, creative, and brilliant minds of all times! Have you guessed? Of course, we’re talking about Leonardo da Vinci! He loved to say that la semplicità è l’ultima sofisticazione (“simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”), or in other words, “keep it simple” or “less is more.” This seems like very good advice for anybody in any situation-and in any case, anything that good old Leonardo said will make you look good! (“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”) Now let’s look at some Italian quotes about life from some of Italy’s greatest minds and artists. It’s basically another way of saying “ Keep calm and carry on,” the famous phrase from a 1939 poster made by the British government before World War II. On the contrary, a very old saying (the origin of which is now lost) tells us the secret to being strong and successful: be calm, be sure of yourself, and face any situation. La calma è la virtù dei forti.īut success is not derived from military strength or political ability alone. There was even an adjective created to illustrate this very idea: machiavellico (“Machiavellian”). This isn’t exactly what Machiavelli meant, but it doesn’t matter much anymore since it’s such a widely known concept. This sentence has been used since the Renaissance to depict a type of political system that would resort to every evil means in order to reach its goals, no matter the costs.
Success, particularly in the political realm, was what Machiavelli had in mind when he wrote this famous and oft-quoted phrase. Does it sound like bragging? Well, yeah! After all, it is Julius Caesar we’re talking about! Today, this quote has-fortunately-lost its military connotation, but it continues to be commonly quoted in its original Latin form to describe great personal achievements that were accomplished quickly and without much effort. The original quote is in Latin, coined by Julius Caesar to describe one of his many quick and easy military victories. This is probably the oldest and most memorable of all the popular Italian quotes, and it comes from ancient Italian times (and more precisely, from ancient Rome). How can you apply these to your everyday life? 1. We’ll start our list with a few Italian quotes of strength and success. In this article, we’ll go through the most commonly used Italian quotes, from sayings about love to words of traditional wisdom. This means that by studying Italian quotes, you’ll not only be able to better understand the people around you and better express yourself, but you’ll also be able to explore Italian culture at a deeper level. They give us a clear vision of people’s philosophy, mindset, history, and popular culture. Quotes are the perfect way to go deeper into the cultural wealth of a language.
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