From the very beginning, Tommaso saw the challenge of making the full body of the Eurosystem an effective, continent-wide central bank, to make all its components act together, as I call it, as a true team, with a strong and dedicated team spirit.
It has not always been easy to draw the appropriate line between preserving the diversity of national traditions, cultures and institutional arrangements, which illustrate the richness of Europe, and being European in the definition of the policy missions and pursuing the public interest. Tommaso was a central banker by profession, but he was also an advocate of a united Europe by deep personal conviction.