Every day Quote by Italo Calvino
““The city of Leonia refashions itself every day: every morning the people wake between fresh sheets, wash with just-unwrapped cakes of soap, wear brand-new clothing, take from the latest model refrigerator still unopened tins, listening to the last-minute jingles from the most up-to-date radio. On the sidewalks, encased in spotless plastic bags, the remains of yesterday's Leonia await the garbage truck. Not only squeezed tubes of toothpaste, blown-out light bulbs, newspapers, containers, wrappings, but also boilers, encyclopedias, pianos, porcelain dinner services. It is not so much by the things that each day are manufactured, sold, bought, that you can measure Leonia's opulence, but rather by the things that each day are thrown out to make room for the new. So you begin to wonder if Leonia's true passion is really , as they say, the enjoyment of new things, and not, instead, the joy of expelling, discarding, cleansing itself of a recurrent impurity. The fact is that street cleaners are welcomed like angels.””
About This Quote
Source Short Story: “The City of Leonia” in *Cosmicomics*, 1965
Society measures wealth by consumption and disposal, highlighting a cycle of constant renewal and waste.
In simple terms: Wealth is shown by what we discard, not just what we buy.
Recognize wasteful habits.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- Urban living
- shopping habits
- environmental policy
- recycling programs
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does discarding say about our values?
- How can we balance novelty with sustainability?
The joy of new items may mask deeper ecological concerns.