When a little more than a teenager, I was a piano-bar pianist in the land where I was born and raised, Tuscany.

If you don't have the possibility of listening to music, you can't know if you love it.

In my iPod, there are many operas, from A to Z. I have 'Aida' and 'Boheme' and 'Butterfly' and 'Cavalleria'. My passion is for opera, but when I'm in the car, I listen to everything.

People are often quite surprised by the sport and leisure activities practised by the blind. For example, tandem cycling is very popular.

You can be great only if it is your destiny.

I have a European frame of mind and Europe is my home.

It's true that I suffered a lot, especially when I was younger.