  This survey is based on a graduate short course given by the author at the
Universit\`a degli Studi dell'Aquila, as a part of the Intensive Programme of
the European Union "Mathematical Models in Life and Social Sciences", in July
2008. It covers the basics of probability and some examples of modelling of
random phenomena in daily life, industry, biology and economy.
  The year after the course, on April 6th 2009, the building where the
programme took place was destroyed by a strong earthquake that caused more than
300 deaths in the region. This work is dedicated to the people that died, lost
a beloved one, or lost their homes that day.
