Italian movie makers have produced some of the most influential masterpieces in film history. My top 10

1. 8½ Director: Federico Fellini Year: 1963 Memorable line: "We must accept ourselves as we are, if we want to live."

2. Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette) Director: Vittorio De Sica Year: 1948 Memorable line: "There's a cure for everything except death."

3. Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso) Director: Giuseppe Tornatore Year: 1988 Memorable line: "Life isn't like in the movies. Life is much harder."

4. La Dolce Vita Director: Federico Fellini Year: 1960 Memorable line: "Marcello, come here! Hurry up!" (Sylvia calling from inside the Trevi Fountain)

5. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo) Director: Sergio Leone Year: 1966 Memorable line: "There are two kinds of spurs, my friend. Those that come in by the door, and those that come in by the window."

6. Rome, Open City (Roma città aperta) Director: Roberto Rossellini Year: 1945 Memorable line: "It's not hard to die well. It's hard to live well."

7. The Leopard (Il gattopardo) Director: Luchino Visconti Year: 1963 Memorable line: "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."

8. L'Avventura Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Year: 1960 Memorable line: "Words are more and more useless. They only create misunderstandings."

9. Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) Director: Roberto Benigni Year: 1997 Memorable line: "Good morning, Princess!" (Buongiorno, principessa!)

10. The Conformist (Il conformista) Director: Bernardo Bertolucci Year: 1970 Memorable line: "I want to build a normal life... I want to be like everyone else."