Reggio Emilia, August 6, 2026 – The last public appearance of Francesco Guccini (photo), who died today at 86, took place without any prior fanfare just last May 2 at the Chiostri di San Pietro, in Reggio Emilia, as a guest of the event ‘Canterò soltanto il tempo‘, connected to the homonymous exhibition set up at Spazio Gerra.
A title taken from a verse of ‘Il Tema’ (1970) that summarizes one of the core elements of his poetics: the relationship between word, memory, and the passage of days. “Words are important and their sound is what we have learned to love things with,” reads a passage from Guccini’s last testimony, collected in the book ‘Calde le pere!’, which he worked on until the end and which will be published posthumously in September. He insisted on being considered a writer, even before a singer-songwriter.
The honorary degree
A fundamental recognition to understand Guccini’s depth over the years was his connection with the academic world.
The proposers of his honorary degree were prominent figures in the university world: Prof. Franco Fabbroni, then president of the Faculty of Education Sciences in Bologna, and Prof. Carlo Jacoboni, dean of the degree course in Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences at Unimore. On that occasion, a fitting definition was crystallized: “Francesco Guccini is the pedagogy of plural thought.”
As Pier Ugo Calzolari, then Rector of the Alma Mater Studiorum, together with Gian Carlo Pellacani, Rector of the University of Modena and Reggio, recalled, in his art the strength of verse and word emerges above all. An approach also reiterated by the stories of Alberto Melloni, linked to that period and the dynamics of primary training in agreement.
The official ceremony represented not only an institutional moment but also the occasion for a highly learned lecture given by the singer-songwriter on the dialect of beloved Pavana, root and lifeblood of his poetics.
Guccini and the relationship with TV after reading difficulties
Behind the figure of the ‘master’ was, however, a man who never loved self-referentiality or spectacularization. He recently confirmed this himself, telling with self-irony and a touch of snobbish spirit his current relationship with television: forced to deal with reading difficulties, Guccini relied on the small screen confessing a ‘masochistic’ love for popular entertainment programs like Temptation Island, enjoying dismantling the artificial and constructed mechanisms created by the authors.
The same authenticity emerges in the memories of those who knew him away from the spotlight. After the academic ceremony and a very cheerful lunch at the Al Pozzo restaurant, in that October of 2002, the day took an intimate and family turn. When the main guests said goodbye, having retrieved a guitar nearby, Guccini sketched out ‘Un vecchio e un bambino‘, although – as he amusingly admitted – recited rather than sung, since “he hadn’t drunk enough.” Between a story about the Reno river, writing, and visceral affection for his land, Guccini continues to live on in his music and the words with which he crossed generations.
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