potete dire che qualcosa sia impossibile. ” “ when one is determined as regards the desired goal, one must act without making multiple hypotheses on the risks of failure. as long as you did not try it, you cannot state that the endeavour is impossible ”. it is that very spirit of the founding fathers that tommaso was always referring to. that very spirit of the founding fathers that is inspiring us today when we are drawing the lessons from the crisis. tommaso was not only a man of culture, a brilliant economist, a remarkable central banker, an important member of the italian government, a true and visionary european. he was also an extraordinary and exemplary friend. the depth of his culture and his personal qualities helped him to establish exceptional and friendly relationship with his colleagues. je peux le dire en francais, admirablement, car il parlait francais mieux que les francais, comme jacques delors le sait mieux que personne. merci tommaso, notre ami si cher, notre ami si regrette, pour cette amitie profonde et pour tout ce que tu as fait au service de notre union europeenne. i thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

jean - claude trichet : e pluribus unum – the legacy of tommaso padoa - schioppa speech by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, at the colloquium in honour of tommaso padoa - schioppa at the bocconi university, milan, 1 february 2011. * * * mr president of the republic, dear members of the family of tommaso, dear mario monti, dear carlo ciampi, cher jacques delors, dear romano prodi, dear paul volcker, dear mario draghi, dear friends from all over europe and the world, ladies and gentlemen, “ aun aprendo ” – “ i am still learning ”. this is the name of a painting by the late spanish painter francisco goya. a beautiful, colourful souvenir with this very motto – “ i am still learning ” – is what tommaso gave to his colleagues when he completed his seven - year mandate as a member of the executive board of the european central bank, in 2005. it was well chosen. for it encapsulates his own tireless search for knowledge and new ideas and in particular how tommaso saw, and shaped, the world around him : central banking, the single currency and european unification. tommaso once told to me what his high school teachers advised him in his early youth : that he needed to decide what interests him most : whether to understand or whether to change the world. the choice of tommaso was economics. and, because the subject of economics is human action, he thought that the call for action would prevail, in his motivations, over the enquiring spirit. i remain profoundly impressed by the remarkable capacity of tommaso to combine practical activity with deep reflection and accurate analysis, without which action would be ineffective. this has been his way to be in the world and to search for truth. in 1998, tommaso joined the european central bank ( ecb ) to serve a currency and an institution that few had believed would be created in time according to the treaty. a currency and an institution he had contributed to design when he was a rapporteur of the delors committee. the institution was assigned the extraordinary mission to deliver to 11 and, soon after, 12 nations and 300 million europeans a currency which would have the highest level of confidence and credibility from the start. over the course of his