Rob, at Wind Rose Hotel , linked to this article on one of my favourite Italian authors ... Tiziano Terzani.

Life is what we make of it. Explore and appreciate life to the fullest as I did, he said, even in the worst moments, we have the ability to reach within ourselves and find meaning in adversity.

"The only real teacher is not in a forest, or a hut or an ice cave in the Himalayas," Terzani once said in an interview. "It is within us."
Tiziano Terzani.

If you're looking for my favourite book by him, I'd recommend (yes, again) A Fortune Teller Told Me .