Interview with Giuliano Amato, President of the Italian Council from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2001 and Interior Minister from 2006 to 2008, carried out by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l’Europe (CVCE) on 15 October 2012 in Rome. The interview was conducted by Renaud Dehousse, Professor and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in European Union Law and Political Science at Sciences Po Paris and Director of the European Studies Centre, and particularly focuses on the following aspects of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa’s life: his role as a great public servant, his work at the Italian Ministry of the Economy and Finance (2006–2008) and the importance he placed on networking.