Life, we all know it, is truly unpredictable. There’s very little we can anticipate and we rarely think about how, at times, a cheerful, carefree moment with a loved one, a colleague, a family member or even a mere acquaintance, could be the last one we share with them.

When we of L’Italo-Americano received this beautiful interview with professor Mario Mignone, of SUNY Stony Brook, we could not imagine he would not have lived long enough to see it published. His death, which occurred suddenly on the 9th of September, took everyone by surprise and leaves an immense void: in his family’s hearts and souls, without a doubt, but also in those of the many, many students he mentored, supported and encouraged throughout his academic career, as well as in those of his numerous readers around the world, Italy included.