Francesco Guccini: RAI1 airs the special "In ricordo di... Francesco Guccini". Zuppi also attends the private funeral in Pavana

Rai pays tribute to Francesco Guccini, who passed away on August 6th, dedicating the evening of Saturday, August 8th to the singer-songwriter from Modena with a double bill spanning television, film and archive material.
Late in the evening on Rai1, "In ricordo di… Francesco Guccini" airs, a special built from images and interviews drawn from the Rai archives, aiming to retrace the long artistic and human journey of the "Maestrone". A journey through decades of music and television, but also through the history of a country that Guccini was able to narrate by weaving together private and collective memory, civic commitment, political disillusionment, provincial life and social change.

Among the recovered material is the interview conducted by Enzo Biagi on February 7, 1985, when Guccini took part alongside Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Lucio Dalla and Pino Daniele in a discussion on the role and usefulness of the Sanremo Festival. The special also revives testimonies connected to Vincenzo Mollica and footage dating back to "Onda libera", Roberto Benigni's 1977 programme.
The archive material takes on particular significance given Guccini's not always close relationship with mainstream television and its rituals. In recent years his appearances on the small screen had become increasingly rare. Among the more recent ones are his meeting with Marco Carrara on "Timeline" and the 2024 interview with Serena Bortone on Rai Radio 2, during which he spoke about the book "Così eravamo", but also about the American elections, Donald Trump and the Italian political situation. "In ricordo di… Francesco Guccini" thus also becomes an opportunity to revisit a significant part of his television presence and offer a portrait of an artist who spanned more than half a century of Italian culture while always maintaining a personal and independent outlook.

Rai's tribute also extends to cinema. At 7:10pm Rai Movie re-aired "Radiofreccia" (repeated on RaiPlay), the 1998 film that marked the directorial debut of Luciano Ligabue, in which Guccini appears alongside Stefano Accorsi, Luciano Federico, Serena Grandi and Patrizia Piccinini. The singer-songwriter plays Adolfo, the barman at the Bar Laika, the meeting place for the friends at the heart of the story. It's a low-key but meaningful presence, perfectly woven into the world of 1970s Emilian provincial life depicted in the film. That shared Emilian background creates a natural connection between Ligabue's cinema and Guccini's imagery: the provinces as a setting for existence and memory, the bar as a meeting place, and everyday events turned into a generational story. The soundtrack of "Radiofreccia" also features "Incontro", one of the most beloved songs in Guccini's repertoire.

From "La locomotiva" to "Dio è morto", from "L'avvelenata" to "Eskimo", all the way to "Cyrano" and "Quattro stracci", Guccini built a body of songs that has become part of our collective memory, blending history and autobiography, ideals and defeats, irony and melancholy. Rai's double tribute thus attempts to capture the different dimensions of a figure who was not only central to Italian singer-songwriter music, but also one of the country's most lucid and recognisable storytellers.
Meanwhile, today Francesco Guccini's private funeral was held at his home in Pavana. As per his wishes, the funeral took place in strict privacy, attended by around forty people among family and closest friends, who dedicated words and readings to him. Also present was Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference and a close friend of Guccini's.

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