In his art Fellini reflects an Italy facing harsh and complicated realities yet fortified with the traditional wisdom of the centuries. He offers an image of hope, an image of a magic land which has rejuvenated itself throughout history more than any in the world….

Though his vision includes sin, Fellini is too Christian for despair, too convinced, even in the face of the worst human perversity, that God is love and cares for us through those ministering angels which find their way into every Fellini film….

Significantly, Fellini reflects the Italian character in his view of poverty: the absolute lack of a future without any corresponding despair seems alien to the Anglo-Saxon character. In "The Nights of Cabiria," Fellini takes it all in stride: it manages to assimilate the whole burden of poverty, misery, and shame without surprise or emphasis. (p. 640)

Simpatico, the one characteristic an Italian...