Italy has captivated hearts for centuries and ignited the imaginations of stars and ordinary people. From poets to filmmakers and chefs to writers, composers and musicians, it has left a mark on their souls. There is something about this country that captivates all those who come here.
So, whether you’re one of many who lost their hearts in Italy or are planning a trip, these quotes about Italy will transport you to the heart of Italy and awaken your wanderlust. From literature, history, art and cinema, here are some words that will give you a glimpse into Italy’s charm and allure. Andiamo!
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Quotes about Italy and food
Italians are known for their food, and they love to talk about it just as much as they like eating it. Not surprisingly, many who come to Italy discover culinary joy, and there is no shortage of quotes about Italy and Italian food.
- Life is a combination of magic and pasta. – Federico Fellini
- “You know, people come to Italy for all sorts of reasons, but when they stay, it’s for the same two things. What? Love and gelato. — Jenna Evans Welch
- The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again. – George Miller
- In Italy, they add work and life onto food and wine. – Robin Leach
- Everything you see I owe to pasta.– Sophia Loren
- Italy will always have the best food.– Diane von Furstenberg
- If I’m in Rome for only 48 hours, I would consider it a sin against God to not eat cacio e pepe, the most uniquely Roman of pastas, in some crummy little joint where Romans eat. I’d much rather do that than go to the Vatican. That’s Rome to me. – Anthony Bourdain
- Italian cuisine is the most famous and beloved cuisine in the world for a reason. Accessible, comforting, seemingly simple but endlessly delicious, it never disappoints, just as it seems to never change. – Matt Goulding
- Bologna is the best city in Italy for food and has the least number of tourists. With its medieval beauty, it has it all. – Mario Batali
Wistful quotes about Italy
There is something about Italy that makes people wax poetically about it, which also makes for some wistful quotes about Italy. These are some of my fave ones.
- Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life. – Anna Akhmatova
- You may have the universe if I may have Italy. – Giuseppe Verdi
- The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables. – Mary Shelley
- Italy offers one the most priceless of one’s possessions – One’s own soul. – Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
- Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city. – Anatole Broyard
- Italy was where the soul went to find calm and love, and I wanted to hold the best of it in the palm of my hand. — Lisa Brennan-Jobs
- I gasp for air if I don’t get to breathe Italian air once a year. — Danny Meyer
- Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water. — Frida Giannini
- In Paris, you learn wit, in London you learn to crush your social rivals, and in Florence, you learn poise. – Virgil Thomson
- One of the great joys of travelling through Italy is discovering firsthand that it is, indeed, a dream destination. – Debra Levinson
- How beautiful is sunset, when the glow of Heaven descends upon a land like thee, Thou Paradise of exiles, Italy! — Percy Bysshe Shelley
- For us to go to Italy and to penetrate into Italy is like a most fascinating act of self-discovery. – D.H. Lawrence
- All my ego wants is to be sitting by a lake in Italy. It doesn’t want to be backstage, warming up. – Chet Faker
- If bliss could be a colour, today would be Amalfi Blue. – Lisa Fantino
Quotes about Italy and Italians
Italy wouldn’t be what it is without the people who live here. Having lived in Italy for some time, the people here never cease to amaze me, quirks and all. Every town has its own cast of characters that will charm you the moment they get a chance.
- I love the food. I love the people. I love the attitudes of Italians. – Elton John
- Italy – I love the late-night culture, hanging around the square at midnight with everyone, catching up, and having a drink. – Gemma Chan
- Love and understand the Italians, for the people are more marvellous than the land. — E. M. Forster
- Italian culture is so deeply soaked in an appreciation of the good things in life. — Mariska Hargitay
- Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice. – Matteo Renzi
- I’m a pretty calm person. That came from living in Italy for a long time. Nothing works, nothing is on time. You have to learn to deal with it. – Tom Ford
Quotes about Italy’s appeal
No matter what you’re into, Italy has it all. From the magic of Venice to the beauty of Florence and the colourful past in Sicily, you’ll find a world of wonders to discover. From small towns to large cities, you’ll find one with your name on it.
- I find other countries have this or this, but Italy is the only one that has it all for me. The culture, the cuisine, the people, the landscape, the history. Just everything to me comes together there. – Frances Mayes
- A man has not fully lived until he experiences that gentle balmy clime of ancient empires, the land of lemon trees and the genius of Michelangelo. – E.A. Bucchianeri
- Maybe money can’t buy happiness, but it can get you a nice little villa in Tuscany, and that’s close enough for me. – Lois Greiman
- Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy. – Bertrand Russell
- Even now, I miss Italy dearly, I dream about it every night. – Eila Hiltunen
- A man who has not been in Italy is always conscious of an inferiority from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see. – Samuel Johnson
- Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go. – Truman Capote
- Travelling is the ruin of all happiness! There’s no looking at a building after seeing Italy. — Fanny Burney
- Venice is eternity itself. — Joseph Brodsky
- No matter where I’ve been overseas, the greatest joy was moving into Italy. Italy has changed me, for the better. – Efrat Cybulkiewicz
Quotes about Italy’s timeless beauty
- We are all pilgrims who seek Italy – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Open my heart and you will see, graved inside of it, Italy. – Robert Browning
- The Creator made Italy from designs by Michelangelo. – Mark Twain
- For sure, in Italy, the sun always shines. – Aleksandar Mitrovic
- Methinks I will not die quite happy without having seen something of that Rome. — Sir Walter Scott
- When I walk up the Piazza of Santa Croce, I feel as if it were not a Florentine nor a European church but a church built by and for the human race. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- You fall in love with Rome very slowly, little by little, but if it happens, it will be for a lifetime… – Nikolaj Gogol
- Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. – John Steinbeck
- To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
- When you write the story of two happy lovers, let the story be set on the banks of Lake Como. – Franz Liszt
- Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning. – Giotto di Bondone
As you can see, Italy is more than a destination. It’s a realm of dreams, beauty and inspiration. Whether you’re drawn to its rich cultural heritage, mouthwatering cuisine, or breathtaking landscapes, Italy has something to offer every soul seeking an unforgettable experience. So pack your bags and immerse yourself in the magic of Italy, where dreams become a reality and memories are etched in your heart forever.
