Francesco Guccini, singer-songwriter and poet born in 1940, a central figure in Italian music from the 1960s onward, has died. His funeral was held in strictly private form at Pavana, a small hamlet in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines where the artist lived and passed away. His daughter Teresa paid a personal tribute to her father, describing his questions as his greatest gift. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi honored his departed friend during the ceremony. A public event is scheduled for September in Bologna to allow fans to pay their respects.

Guccini began his artistic career in the 1960s, inspired by the Cantacronache tradition and, on a more popular level, by Bob Dylan. Among his best-known songs is La locomotiva, inspired by an event in July 1893 when the anarchist machinist Pietro Rigosi drove a locomotive into freight cars. His output ranges from the theme of peace, with songs like Auschwitz, to critiques of consumerism, from reflections on love and everyday relationships, to the ironic and cabaret-like vein present in pieces such as La Genesi from 1973.

The artist was described as a free poet whose social commitment, driven by an anarchist streak, went beyond political parties and was oriented toward the search for a sense of humanity. His concerts engaged multiple generations of listeners. Vince Tempera, a musician who worked with him from their first encounter in 1968 with the Nomadi, remembered him as a loyal friend, from their first collaboration in a barn to their last phone call.

The press devoted extensive coverage to his passing with articles retracing his human and artistic figure: from an interview conducted in June 2020 two days before his eightieth birthday, to anthologies of his lesser-known songs, to recollections of his humor and his artistic journey as a return to his roots. Judgments on the historical and cultural placement of his work remain open, while the public celebrations in Bologna in September are awaited.