A father’s letters to his daughter

Sandro Pertini

It was 1980. Sandro Pertini, President of the Italian Republic, had travelled to Urbino to meet with a group of university students. At one point, a young man heckled him. Pertini didn’t flinch. He had known censorship, the real kind, first-hand, and had paid for it with prison and internal exile. He took the floor. He restated his position. And then he did the most extraordinary thing of all: he defended that young man’s right to challenge him, reminding him that being able

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Earlier letters

Hope keeps you standing. Then it starts holding you back.

I waited a long time for someone to become what I hoped they would be. We have all been there. I believed it. I saw the good moments, I told myself patience was enough. I was waiting for a person who, I understood later, didn't exist. The one who existed was the one I imagined. For a while it works like that. Hope keeps you standing. It gives you a reason to stay. The problem comes later. It comes when you realise you're building everything on a person who isn't there. There'

Jun 211 min read

To trust. To entrust

The first time you took the train alone, you held your ticket tight. You knew the platform, but you didn't know exactly what would happen once you stepped inside: who would sit beside you, if the train would be on time, or what you would find at the end of the line. You boarded anyway, with the look of someone thinking: it might just work out. That is trust. Entrusting is different. It’s when you hand the ticket to someone else. It’s when you say: "You lead the way this time.

Apr 181 min read

Lone Voices

There comes a moment when you feel the answer clearly within you, yet the chorus around you is saying something else entirely. In that moment, something inside you wavers. It’s only natural: it stems from that need to belong, to be mirrored, to feel that "I, too, think this way." But truth is not decided by a majority. History is full of lone voices that were right, and unified choruses that were wrong together. So, if your ideas truly convince you, if you have examined them,

Mar 141 min read

51/49

51/49 is a strange thing. The difference is tiny, almost laughable and yet it decides everything. We imagine that people who keep going must carry something exceptional inside them. A rare talent, an unshakeable confidence, a special kind of certainty. Then you look more closely and discover that's often not the case. Ordinary people. With fears. With doubts. With the same urge, at some point, to say: enough. The difference comes later. It comes when exhaustion sets in. When

Feb 211 min read

That tiny line

The doors close with a sharp, dry sound. The air grows heavy, and time slows down. But that place isn’t as far from us as we think. It’s just one step away. There is no clear line between those who are out and those who are in. This isn’t a story of "good" and "bad"; it’s a fragile weave of encounters, wounds, and absences. A parent who couldn't stay. A friend who steered elsewhere. A word left unsaid when it was needed most. Or, quite simply, life crashing down on you witho

Feb 141 min read

The art of riding the wave

If there is one thing I believe I’ve learned over time, it’s that life rarely follows the script we spend so much time writing. Change is often sudden, uninvited and, to be perfectly honest, a bit of a nuisance. We spend an infinite amount of energy anchoring ourselves to the idea of how we "would like things to go," but the truth is that the power of the waves doesn't care about our anchors at all. The secret isn’t to defy the wave, but to be ready to ride it. When a massi

Jan 232 min read

It was nothing

A fear, a doubt, something that feels bigger than you. It happens to everyone, more often than you think. Some days, even a small problem looks like a mountain. You lose your breath, wondering if you’ll make it, if you’re taking the wrong path. Then, with time, things settle. And you find yourself saying, almost smiling: “It was nothing.” Most fears are like that — false alarms. They speak loudly at first, then fade the moment you truly look at them. They’re clouds passing by

Oct 18, 20251 min read

The Child from Mali

In President Mattarella’s office, there hangs a drawing, a simple vignette. It shows a boy sitting at the bottom of the sea, reading a book. It was inspired by a true story. The story of a small body found on a Mediterranean shore. That body was brought to Milan, to a special laboratory that tries to give a name to these poor, nameless remains. It arrived in a small bag. From its weight, they understood it was a child. He was a 14-year-old boy from Mali, who died in the Medit

Oct 9, 20252 min read

Keep Going

Sometimes what you wish for may seem far away, almost out of reach. You might think the chances are small. But if, when you think about it, you feel something light up inside you; then it’s worth trying. Hold on to that feeling. Protect it, because you don’t need to know how things will go. It' s enough to take the next step. One small move that brings you a little closer to your dream. Listen, learn, change direction if you need to.Little by little, everything will start to

Oct 5, 20251 min read

Beyond our time

The construction of Notre-Dame Cathedral began in 1163 and took almost two centuries to complete, finally ending in 1345. Think of the men and women who built it: one stone each day, one small step at a time, knowing they would never see the finished work. Yet they kept going, with patience and pride, because in their minds the image was already alive. They knew they were building something that mattered. Cathedrals carry a silent majesty. They were born from an ambition grea

Oct 5, 20251 min read

Friendship

A park bench, an unexpected laugh, a coffee shared, a message arriving at just the right moment. Friendship lives in these simple gestures that may seem small, yet leave a lasting mark. It is the certainty of having someone by your side, with no masks and no effort. It doesn’t need solemn promises, only presence, listening, that light thread that makes you feel free and understood. Friendship grows when you nurture it, and it knows how to endure both time and distance. Letter

Sep 13, 20251 min read

Eclipse

Tonight is the last night you’ll spend in your room, the place that for years has been your refuge. I remember when I left, around your...

Sep 8, 20251 min read

This is your life. Tell it your way.

You don't need anyone's permission to be the main character of your own story. Some people will understand you; others won’t. What...

Sep 6, 20251 min read

Every path begins with a 'why' that feels like you

You don't have to have all the answers; sometimes, all you need is a question that's close to your heart to act as a compass. What is it...

Sep 6, 20251 min read

Kindness is worth more than being right

There are moments when you feel the need to prove you're right, as if everything depends on it. But then, when it's over, when silence...

Sep 6, 20251 min read

The wisdom of asking for help

There is strength in enduring, but there is wisdom in knowing when to let others in. Asking for help is believing that someone can care...

Sep 4, 20251 min read

The difference is in the fifth day

The first few days are easy; your enthusiasm is high. But the real difference isn't made when everything is going well. It's made on the...

Sep 4, 20251 min read

Really listen. And ask with your heart

There's a huge difference between hearing someone's words and truly listening to them. It's when you ask, "How are you?" and actually wait for the answer. When you're not already thinking about what to say next. You don't need to solve anyone's problems. You just need to be there, present, with eyes that say, "I care about what you're telling me. "It's a gift we give too little, even to ourselves. Because everyone, absolutely everyone, needs to feel seen. Even those who prete

Sep 4, 20251 min read

The courage to step onto the stage

Giving a round of applause costs nothing,but putting yourself out there does. It means facing the possibility of making mistakes, of...

Sep 4, 20251 min read

The beauty of letting go

Not everything is meant to last forever. We cling to places, dreams, and people, convinced that they define us. But sometimes, it is...

Sep 4, 20251 min read