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Share your feelings with your loved ones with Italian quotes!
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Italian quotes: who said that?
The Italian language is derived from the language of the Ancient Romans.
Although Latin can never be surpassed as the language of wisdom, brevity, and gravitas, Italian has its own charm and beauty.
Italian quotes are often used in art and music.
Great inventors and artists often have more to say than what they can convey through their work.
Are you curious about what wisdom well-known Italians have shared with the world?
Here’s a list of Italian quotes about everyday life, love, family, death, friends, etc.
Feel free to use them on a t-shirt design, for a piece of writing, or for a tattoo.
Italian aphorisms can help you
An aphorism is a brief saying or phrase that expresses an opinion or makes a statement of wisdom without the flowery language of a proverb.
Aphorism comes from a Greek word meaning “definition.”
The term was first coined by Hippocrates in a work appropriately titled Aphorisms.
Aphorisms are often used to teach a lesson while speaking in plain terms.
The Italian aphorisms below are all conveying some sort of truth in a direct, sometimes witty, manner that makes this kind of message powerful.
After all, everyone needs a little inspiration from time to time.
Whether you’re going through a breakup, you’ve just lost your job, or you simply woke up feeling a little insecure this morning—we’ve all had these days.
Feeding your mind inspiring quotes daily is a great practice to boost your positivity.
Italian quotes by famous Italians
Learning Italian is more fun with Italian quotes said by famous Italians.
In this section you’ll find a bit of information about these famous Italians followed by one of their famous quotes:
Galileo Galilei: 16th-century astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. The founder of modern science.
“Non puoi insegnare niente a un uomo. Puoi solo aiutarlo a scoprire ciò che ha dentro di sé.”
You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help find it within himself.
Leonardo Da Vinci: A true Renaissance man with numerous interests: architecture, science, mathematics, literature, art, anatomy, astronomy, and many others.
“La sapienza è figliola dell’esperienza.”
Wisdom is the daughter of experience.
Dante Alighieri: Famous Italian poet and the author of “The Divine Comedy” considered the greatest piece of writing in Italian created in the Middle Ages. Alighieri’s goal was to make poetry accessible to any reader rather than understood only by the most educated citizens.
“Noi non potremo avere perfetta vita senza amici”
We cannot have a perfect life without friends.
Sophia Loren: Famous Italian actress who started her career in the 1950s. She continued to be present on the big screen for decades, winning numerous awards including an Oscar for her role in “Two Women”. She made history as the first winner of the award for Best Actress performing in a non-English speaking movie.
“Se non hai mai pianto, i tuoi occhi non possono essere belli.”
If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful.
Umberto Eco: Author of the famous book “The Name of the Rose” and its film adaptation with Sean Connery.
“La lettura è un’immortalità all’indietro.”
Reading is immortality backwards.
Read more Italian quotes by famous Italians.
More Italian quotes by famous Italians
Here are some Italian phrases said other famous Italians by with their English translation:
“Penso che se io morissi e che con i miei mali finisse il desiderio, un amore così grande si spegnerebbe e il mondo intero rimarrebbe senza amore.” Lucrezia Borgia
I think if I died and together with my pain the desire ended, such great love would expire and the whole world would be left without love.
“Il più grande pericolo per noi non è che miriamo troppo in alto e non riusciamo a raggiungere il nostro obiettivo ma che miriamo troppo in basso e lo raggiungiamo.” Michelangelo Buonarroti
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that is it too low and we reach it.
“Non si può mai attraversare l’oceano se non si ha il coraggio di perdere di vista la riva.” Cristoforo Colombo
You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
Italian phrases in English
Here’s a list of some unattributed phrases in Italian:
Fa quello che ami.
Do what you love.
Il 100% dei tentativi non fatti è perso.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Tutto ciò che la mente dell’uomo può concepire e credere, può essere realizzato.
Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
La felicità non è qualcosa di pronto all’uso. Essa deriva dalle nostre azioni.
Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.
Read more famous Italian phrases.
Quotes in Italian by famous people
Here are some quotes in Italian by famous people:
Ogni muro è una porta.
Every wall is a door.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Non rimpiangere mai ciò che ti ha fatto sorridere.
Never regret anything that made you smile.
(Mark Twain)
Se puoi sognarlo, puoi farlo.
If you can dream it, you can do it.
(Walt Disney)
Tutto ciò di cui hai bisogno è l’amore.
All you need is love.
(John Lennon)
Il vero segno dell’intelligenza non è la conoscenza, ma l’immaginazione.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
(Albert Einstein)
Mai, mai, mai arrendersi.
Never, never, never give up.
(Winston Churchill)
Read more quotes in Italian by famous people.
Italian quotes about friendship
Here’s a collection of Italian quotes about friendship for learning Italian.
Amici si nasce, non si diventa.
Friends are born, not made.
Un amico è uno che ti conosce e ti ama lo stesso.
A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
Non c’è nulla su questa terra che debba essere più apprezzato della vera amicizia.
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
Un amico è qualcuno che ti dà la libertà totale di essere te stesso.
A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.
Read more Italian quotes about friendship.
More insight into Italian culture
What’s your favorite Italian quote?
Do you need more wisdom? Check out this collection of Italian proverbs, Italian sayings, and Italian idioms. Italian hand gestures are fun, too!
For more insight into Italian culture, learn Italian with Lucrezia Borgia and the Italian experiment Galileo Galilei.
If you want something more practical, here’s a list of common Italian sentences for travel.
Still translating in your head? Wanna speak Italian for real? Check out Stefano's courses to think directly in Italian and become fluent fast!