"In a stubborn and contrary direction"

Sunday, October 5, 5 p.m., Oratory of Our Lady of Mercy

FROM FABER TO FRANCESCO
When RAI censored his songs, Vatican Radio broadcast them, but Fabrizio De André would hardly have imagined being quoted one day by a Pontiff. And it couldn't have happened anywhere else but with Francis. In his preface to a book chronicling the odyssey of the poor of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis chose, among a thousand possible references, Fabrizio De André and one of his most irreverent songs (La città vecchia), in which not even God, ultimately, cuts a fine figure by denying the alleyways the warmth of his sun because he's too busy warming the people of other neighborhoods.   A metaphor that hints at his absence from the side of the marginalized to whom De André dedicated La città vecchia. And the choice of Bergoglio was certainly no coincidence. While De André always denounced the hypocrisy of the self-righteous, accustomed to condemning those different from them, Francis was the Pope of mercy, who called for welcoming rather than excluding, for understanding rather than judging.

In the evocative setting of the Oratory of Our Lady of Mercy, a journey into religiosity in the name of the one who "poured wine and broke bread for those who said I am thirsty and I am hungry."

ALDO ASCOLESE guitar and vocals
Genoese singer-songwriter among the best interpreters of Fabrizio De André's songs, thanks also to the timbre of his warm, deep voice.

LAURA MERIONE violin
Alongside his classical training at the Conservatory, he also pursues experiences in music and theatre, ranging from tradition to the search for new sounds.

GIANLUCA ORIGONE guitar
Trained at the Niccolò Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, he has collaborated and collaborates with great artists

Readings by Carla Migliardi and Fabio Vosilla