“If you want to do something new and modern, as you say and as the others here have said, you shouldn’t think only in terms of investments and profit. Leave that for others to do. You can support a high-profile project that looks towards Europe, one that is in step with the times. A hospital that doesn’t seek profit but is devoted to the most advanced research but also treats patients. This is what the country needs right now.”
It was 4 November 1986 – a Thursday – at 5:30 in the afternoon. I was rebutting the long discussion of a person who was accustomed to being right all the time: Enrico Cuccia, President of Mediobanca.

That idea encompassed many hopes. The desire to see an institute established in Italy, one whose main mission was a commitment to European research. Basic research, the kind of laboratory research that tries to understand the genetic roots of cancer, studying and testing new drugs. But one that also conducts clinical research, in order to treat patients more effectively. My dream was to establish an institute in Italy that would concentrate the research of all European countries, acting as a point of reference for all of Europe.

There was a murmur of unintelligible comments, and then Cuccia’s deep voice boomed out over the others:
“ We have too much of a responsibility towards our country to limit ourselves to considering a low-consumption activity.” Cuccia took up the challenge, and I wasn’t surprised. He was a member of that enlightened class that, in difficult times, was personally willing to take on the responsibility of solidarity and is not only devoted to creating profit but it is also attentive to the needs of the community, contributing to the country’s social betterment.

Excerpt from the book "Da bambino avevo un sogno", by Umberto Veronesi