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Alberto Angela

21 quotes

“I believe that the parasitic ant is the longest-living and, at the same time, the weakest animal in existence. Its exoskeletal structure is very similar to that of a flying mosquito, but with a more regularly segmented bulb.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Tyrannosaurus was the size of an elephant, as ferocious as a tiger, and had the teeth of a shark.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Few cities in human history, like Renaissance Florence, have managed to make such a profound impact, over the course of just a few centuries, not only on the history of their own country, but on that of an entire continent and the whole world.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Before Ciampi, the homeland was a right-wing, bellicose value. He convinced Italians to make peace with the flag and the national anthem.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you walk into a place as magnificent and as rich in treasures as St Peter's Basilica, it's natural for your gaze to wander upwards, or all around you… It's much less likely that you'll stop to look at the floor. But it's a real shame, because the floors of St Peter's Basilica are a huge, vast masterpiece unlike any other in the world.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(About Gigi Proietti) When you found yourself in front of him, in front of his art, in front of his person, you realised you were in the presence of a true master, a unique artist who knew how to draw you in completely, whatever the performance. His art was never ostentatious, and he was always able to put the people he interacted with at ease. [...] With his humility, his humanity and his simplicity, Gigi was one of the most genuine, respectful and humane men I have ever met.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, at first glance, [iguanas] might indeed look like small dinosaurs, but they aren't. They belong to the large group of reptiles, but they are not closely related to dinosaurs. Let's say they're about as closely related as we are to a seal.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm easy-going: I like comedy films and action films. In first place, I would put 2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Ducal Palace in Urbino is really like a maze, with passages, rooms, courtyards, and so on, and we are now at one of the highest points, in one of the two 'torricini', as they are called – these very elegant pointed towers. They didn't [...] have a military function; this wasn't a fortress, this was a palace. And it was commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro so that anyone who came right here [...] would be faced with this marvel of architecture, which was a veritable calling card for this extraordinary figure.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The most important example of this golden age is the Ducal Palace, a veritable treasure trove covering no less than twenty thousand square metres over several floors. It truly is an extraordinary work.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Just think, UNESCO has declared Urbino's historic centre a World Heritage Site; but in fact, it's an extremely ancient city, a city that reached its peak of splendour, as we know, in the 15th century, when, as UNESCO points out, it was one of the greatest centres of art and culture throughout the Renaissance. Most importantly, it has left an indelible mark on history, thanks in part to the creativity of its inhabitants and to the Duke of Urbino, a truly extraordinary figure.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[...] Amidst these woods and oak trees, nestled among the rolling hills of the Marche region, lies a true marvel – not only of this region, but of our entire nation: a city rich in history, art and culture. A city that has left its mark over the centuries: Urbino.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In those years, Urbino – and above all this beautiful [Ducal] palace – was a place of great activity. Here, you would have met many ambassadors, guests and travellers, as well as figures who went down in history: Pope Julius II [...], Lucrezia Borgia, and many others.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Urbino [...] is a unique place, a place where the Middle Ages and the Renaissance blend together naturally: and so, today, all these beautiful palaces, the churches, the narrow alleyways and the characteristic ups and downs of the city still transport you back to that era, to the 15th and early 16th centuries. During this period, Urbino was a wealthy city buzzing with cultural activity, and thanks to the passion of the city's rulers, many places were created where art, in turn, flourished.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From their clothes to their houses, the world of the Romans is truly colourful, much more so than ours, which is characterised by white walls and dark clothes. (p. 16)”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In short, what is the biggest difference between Roman houses and ours? As we have seen, the most striking difference is the colours. The Romans would be appalled by the lack of colour in our houses, as well as in our clothes, our furniture and our statues. (p. 121)”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The belief that coral protects against bad luck and the evil eye has its roots in mythology. Medusa turned anyone who looked at her to stone. After Perseus beheaded her, he mounted Pegasus, the winged horse, holding the head of the monster he had just killed in his hand. During the flight, a few drops of blood from Medusa's severed head fell into the sea and turned to stone, becoming red coral. Thus, the blood of the terrible Medusa became a weapon that people could use to their advantage, against bad luck and the ill will of others... (p. 270)”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As we know, salt is of fundamental importance to our body, and since ancient times it has always been held in high esteem, almost as much as gold. Soldiers were paid with salt – hence the term 'salary' – and the salt mined at Ostia Antica was transported along a road aptly named the 'Salaria'. (p. 305)”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People who went to work at the World Trade Center every day used to boast about it; they were proud of it: at the time they were built, the towers were the tallest skyscrapers in New York, standing 410 metres high. They surpassed the record held by the Empire State Building, at 381 metres, which until then had been the most famous and admired building. They had literally changed, transformed the city skyline. Whether you were arriving from the sea on a transatlantic liner, as a luxury tourist, or on a commuter ferry, your gaze was immediately drawn to the two towers with admiration. Building them had been a colossal undertaking, which had also sparked a great deal of controversy.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From up here, you can see Palermo at sunset, with all its charm and beauty, which are, however, hidden within this calculated disorder of domes, the remains of mosques, palm trees that rise up, gesticulating statues, as well as Baroque gardens and even Art Nouveau splendour. From here, you can make out Monte Pellegrino, a headland that Goethe described as 'the most beautiful in the world' and that almost seems to protect the city. A city that seems to drift lazily down towards the sea. A sea from which came all the peoples who wished to conquer it. Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, French, Piedmontese, Austrians. And they all left behind immense beauty. And perhaps it was precisely from the sea that came that melancholy which is one of the keys to understanding Sicily. In short, here, nothing is Sicilian, but everything becomes Sicilian.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Forty-three thousand six hundred windows; that's the total number of windows in the two towers. In other words, each tower has just under twenty-two thousand windows, all fifty centimetres wide. This is an important fact to bear in mind, as it helps us to understand the structure of the towers and also the dynamics of their collapse. In fact, traditional skyscrapers have an internal load-bearing structure and very thin walls. The New York towers, on the other hand, were supported by an external framework of thin steel ribs, spaced fifty centimetres apart – the exact width of the windows. In short, they were like hollow cuboids. The biggest challenge for the twin towers was the wind: in fact, in this part of Manhattan at this height, the wind can reach speeds of up to 220 kilometres per hour. When this happened, the towers would bend and could even swing by as much as one metre. The towers had become a symbol, and precisely for this reason, a group of fanatics decided to attack them as early as 1993.”
Alberto Angela (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source