With the help of modern technologies based on the empirical observation of real data in natural languages, it is now easier to explore the actual use of phrasemes in a language, especially in less formal communicative exchanges. Thanks to these developments, recent phraseological literature has studied and described quotation patterns, a subset of schematic phrasemes present in all European languages. Since they can be traced back to a famous author or source, they are particularly suitable for contrastive research between European languages, in order to circumscribe both interlinguistic similarities and different dynamics developed in the languages examined. From the analysis of the use of the Dante’s expression Lasciate ogni speranza voi che X in Italian and Croatian it results that in one language, this phraseme may show minimal lexical variability, if the canonical form is observed by the linguistic community, while in another language a strong schematicity is recognized, i.e. the existence of a quotation pattern. The semiotic complexity of quotation patterns requires further detailed analyses, which will undoubtedly open up new perspectives on the genesis and role of schematic phrasemes in contemporary European languages.