It's always quite difficult to write about oneself, isn't it? Anyway, I'll try to.
I am aware that I'm way less handsome than Brad Pitt, not so charming as George Clooney or Cristiano Ronaldo. However, I think I have some qualities:
- I have a heart and a soul (which is not obvious in today's world). I like talking about interesting topics, but I often don't have anyone to talk to. This is the main reason why I'm here and I must say I have already found some intelligent people who enjoy talking and reading long messages dealing with something different from everyday's life;
- I am sincere: I am unable to lie and when I try to lie, it gets evident... So, I'm looking forward to meeting sincere people: please, don't show me what you are not and don't pretend you like me if you don't. I know I can't be loved and appreciated by everyone and I am ok with this;
- I am shy in the beginning, but when I get to know someone well enough, I become talkative and demonstrativ​e.

I am an old-fashione​d guy. I am Roman Catholic and believe in the values of my religion and of my culture. However, I am open to talk to non-Christia​n and non-Western people, too!

I have been attending the Faculty for Translators and Interpreters​ at the University of Trieste (North-Easte​rn Italy, close to Slovenia) since the end of 2002 and will finally get my 2nd-level degree in Translation in March 2010! Afterwards, I'll say farewell to the ugly world of education and enter the (hopefully a little better) job market.

I used to have a lot of pen friends in the past but, when I started university, I stopped writing to them because I didn't have any free time. Now I am about to finish university (I'm writing my degree thesis) and I would like to find someone interesting people who will make me feel happier and less lonely. I'm looking for funny intelligent people who can write more than just "hi! How are you?".
I am happy to say that I have already found some very interesting,​ thoughtful and caring people, but feel free to write me a message or to post on the wall if you think you can be one of them too.

I'm open to talk to anyone who has something interesting to say. Your sex is not very important and I don't want to discriminate​ anyone because of their age. If you are 13 or 90, you can still write me and I may answer you if I find you interesting.​ Let me say that I would prefer people aged more or less from 18 to 35, but I want to stress that this is not a strict rule.

If I have visited your profile without leaving a post, it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it. Maybe I just didn't know what to write (which is likely to be the case if your profile is very short), so if you think we have something in common or if you would just like to get to know me, give it a try!

Frequently​ asked questions about my language skills​

Do​ you really speak all those languages?​
Since it is not easy to answer to this question, I have prepared a legend for you:
"Speaks"​ lists all the languages I have studied, from my mother tongue to those I haven't learnt so well: I should be able to understand at least some easy posts or messages in all these languages.
"Learning"​ includes the languages already mentioned in the "Speaks"​ field I am not good enough yet. I am either studying them now (it's the case of Portuguese) or willing to refresh my knowledge. Please note that I have basic skills in all of them, that's not a "wish-list"​.
"Can​ help with"​ regroups the languages I am fluent in: I can write, read and speak them more or less easily. As for Latin, I can't speak it, but I can help you with grammar or translations​.
To sum up:​
- I have some elements for all the listed languages;
- I can read posts and write easy ones in all the languages in the "Speaks"​ field;
- I can easily read and write long posts in the "Can help with" languages.

So, here come my request: it would be great to find people who can help me brush up and improve the languages listed in the "Learning"​ field. I fear I may soon forget the little of Czech, Finnish and Greek I have learnt!

My long-term aim is to learn all the official languages of the European continent, at least at a basic level. Will I be able to do so? "God only knows"!​

Q.​ What do you use to study languages?​
I have studied most of the listed languages with the self-learnin​g courses by French publisher ASSIMIL​. Not all of them proved successful, though. My main concern with them is that they didn't give me a wide enough vocabulary.

Q.​ Do you have a method to learn languages?​
Actually I don't, or at least I didn't until a while ago, when, thanks to this site, I could discover the figure of Kató Lomb. She was a Hungarian polyglot who learnt a great number of languages with a method she invented, based on reading books. If you are also interested to learn more about her, you can read this Wikipedia​ page and download the English version of her book "Polygl​ot. How I learnt languages"​ from this​ site. I am now trying to use her method to improve my Polish knowledge, in particular to broaden my vocabulary. I have had problems in word learning with all the languages I have learnt by myself, except Spanish, as well as with Slovene (which I studied at university).​

My main interests are related to Europe (its culture, history, geography, society, languages, etc.).
I am interested in politics at a national and European level.
I love traveling: my aim is to visit all the European countries and some non-European​ ones. I have written many pages and posted photo from my journeys on my​ VirtualTouri​st page​.
I like taking photos of the places I visit, though I am not a pro yet.
I enjoy reading good books, but don't have one favourite genre. I also used to write poems, but now it has been a while since I last wrote one. :(
I collect many kinds of stuff: stamps, coins, banknotes, transport and entrance tickets (museums, buildings, exhibitions,​ etc), small 3-D reproduction​s of monuments, etc.

Below you find some of my favourite artists and songs. Click on the titles to see the videos (this can also be a listening exercise to train your language skills).
Please, feel free to suggest me any artists or songs I should listen to, especially in other European languages, whether I have studied them or not yet.

My favourite artists:​
ABBA​
The​ Winner Takes It All
Super​ Trouper
I​ Have A Dream
Lucio​ Battisti​
Il​ mio canto libero
Il​ tempo di morire
Pensieri​ e parole
Céline​ Dion
Je​ chanterai​
En​ attendant ses pas
Pour​ que tu m'aimes encore
All​ by myself
Katie​ Melua​
Mary​ Pickford​
All​ in my head
If​ the lights go out
Nine​ million bicycles​
When​ you taught me how to dance

Italian​ music:​
Ivan​ Graziani​
Agnese​
Firenze​ (canzone triste)
Lugano​ addio
Francesco​ De Gregori​
La​ donna cannone
Generale​
Alice​
Claudio​ Baglioni​
Mille​ giorni di te e di me

French​ music:​
Edith​ Piaf
Hymne​ à l'amour
La​ vie en rose
Charles​ Trenet​
Boum​
Que​ reste-t-il de nos amours
Georges​ Brassens​
Les​ copains d'abord
Les​ amoureux des bancs publics
La​ femme d'Hector​
Jacques​ Brel
Madeleine​
Gilbert​ Bécaud​
E​t maintenant​
L'important​, c'est la rose
Francis​ Cabrel​
L'encre​ de tes yeux
Il​ faudra leur dire
Michel​ Sardou​
La​ maladie d'amour
Interdit​ aux bébés
Les​ lacs du Connemara​

Other​ songs I like:​
Hayley​ Westenra - Both sides now
Phil​ Collins - You Can't Hurry Love

I am not a movie fan and I hardly ever go to the cinema. To be honest, I feel quite ignorant in this field.
I usually watch comedies, comic and romantic films. Here are some of my favourite:
Forrest Gump
Love Actually
August Rush
Juno
Just Like Heaven
8 femmes
Shrek 1 and 2
Notting Hill
Cheaper by the Dozen 1 and 2
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis

Please, feel free to suggest any film I should see in your opinion, especially European and American films.

X-Factor, The Nanny ("La tata" in Italian), Mork & Mindy, The Jeffersons, F.R.I.E.N.D.​S., Alarm für Cobra 11 ("Squad​ra speciale Cobra 11"), SoKo Leipzig, quiz shows ("Passaparola"​, "Reazio​ne a catena"​, "Questi​ons pour un champion"​)

- everything by Oriana Fallaci: among her novels, my preferred one is Un uomo ("A man"), but I also love her Trilogy on Islam, especially the first two books (The Rage and the Pride and The force of Reason);​
- The Kite Runner
- Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- all books by Agatha Christie
- poetry (but not the most recent one)

Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (Horace)

"Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is." (Forrest Gump)

And they'll meet one day, far away, and say "I wish I was something more". And they'll meet one day, far away, and say "I wish I knew you, I wish I knew you before"​ (Amy MacDonald, Mr Rock and Roll)

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