Italian singer-songwriter Fausto Amodei has died at the age of 91. Born in Turin in 1934, he was one of the founders of Cantacronache, the groundbreaking collective of the late 1950s that pioneered political songwriting in Italy.
Amodei quickly emerged as a central voice in the group, composing new material alongside Sergio Liberovici. Unlike his colleague, who drew inspiration from Brecht and Weill, Amodei embraced the spirited style of French chanson, particularly Georges Brassens, whom he also translated with great skill.
Among his most celebrated works is Per i morti di Reggio Emilia, which became an anthem of Italian protest movements. After Cantacronache dissolved, Amodei joined the Nuovo Canzoniere Italiano, collaborating with Roberto Leydi and Gianni Bosio in their research on folk and social songs. It was through this work that Amodei recorded, together with Sandra Mantovani, the first-ever Italian release of Bella ciao, included in the 1963 album Canti della Resistenza italiana 2.