"I saw the clown, Pierino, at the fountain
…
I was moved and admired the poor man dressed
as a funny man, whom I realised was a free,
amazing being, needing very little to live on
and able to survive the most incredible disasters,
able to rise from the most frightful calamities,
pass unharmed through mockery and contempt and
to the very end maintain an unflagging optimism:
amused and amusing as only one under heaven’s
protection could possibly be.
— Federico Fellini, Fellini on Fellini
