If you had been in the ruins of, say, London in 1945, or Berlin, and you had said, "Sixty years from now, this is going to be the most peaceful, prosperous part of the planet," people would have thought you were certifiably insane.
per dire, tra le rovine di Londra nel 1945, o Berlino, e avessi detto: "Tra 60 anni questa sarà una delle più pacifiche e ricche parti del pianeta", la gente ti avrebbe considerato un pazzo "certificato".