how important his classical education had been to him, it therefore seems appropriate to me now to recall the final verses of a well - known poem by eugenio montale, “ non chiederci la parola ”, “ don ’ t ask us for the word ” ), a poem also dear to federico caffe : “ n on domandarci la formula che mondi possa aprirti, / si qualche storta sillaba e secca come un ramo. / codesto solo oggi possiamo dirti, / cio che non siamo, cio che non vogliamo. ” ( in valeriu raut ’ s english translation : “ don ’ t ask us for the phrase that can open worlds, / just a few gnarled syllables, dry like a branch. / this, today, is all that we can tell you : / what we are not, what we do not want. ” ). to conclude, i believe that, for many reasons, stefano fenoaltea ’ s tireless scientific commitment could not fail to be in tune with the research activity at the bank of italy, where the importance of historical research, statistical reconstructions, methodological rigour in the use and interpretation of historical sources have always been recognised, even though, perhaps, not always practiced to the extent stefano would have wished and required. it is indeed my belief that a good, dare i say profound, knowledge of economic history should always provide a solid background for the activity of economists confronted with the responsibilities of central banking. we will, then, keep reading his books and papers, recommending that they be read and commented, and look forward to further analysis of his contributions. and we will always be grateful to him for his legacy to the bank. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

crisis and expanded their balance sheets massively in response to the ensuing recession. in addition, a discrete increase in major central bank assets occurred again during the covid pandemic. abundant empirical studies have shown that these unconventional policies have been quite effective in lowering long - term interest rates and holding up output. what are the drawbacks of ucfg? despite the successes in boosting economies, however, the experiences of unconventional forward guidance have exposed several weaknesses. the first is the difficulty in communicating the conditionality and the time horizon of the guidance. an “ oversimplified ” communication strategy doesn ’ t properly provide insights into how policy is likely to evolve in rapidly changing environments. second, such “ oversimplification ” leads markets to underestimate uncertainty, which probably makes it difficult for central banks to exit. a good example is the taper tantrum in 2013, in which a change in market perceptions triggered financial market turmoil, out of line with the modest policy tightening envisaged in the fed ’ s cautious public statements. third, such guidance can distort markets as the prolonged period of “ r - g ” less than zero could lead to fiscal irresponsibility. the potential reversion of “ r - g ” can then call into question debt sustainability in the new interest rate environment. another risk is the perception that the central bank is inclined to remain committed to forward guidance or risk credibility. this inflexibility could be a factor that has contributed to policymakers ’ current difficulties in dealing with the shift to a high inflation environment. practice of ucmps in emes during the covid pandemic although unconventional forward guidance has significantly contributed to economic stability after the global financial crisis, some of its weaknesses may have caused major central banks to recently discontinue unconventional forward guidance. bloomberg called this “ death ” of forward guidance. then, what does this experience in advanced economies imply for emerging markets? in fact, several emerging market countries also introduced qe - type policies together with large fiscal stimulus during the covid pandemic, though at a much smaller scale. for instance, central banks purchased mortgage - backed securities or corporate bonds in poland, hungary and thailand, as well as government bonds through primary markets in indonesia and the philippines. several studies have shown that unconventional measures have been relatively effective in emerging markets, too. financial markets were stabilized without significant currency depreciation or capital outflows, despite massive expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, in