The essay explores how Fabrizio De André’s La ballata del Miché articulates a unique conception of justice through song. By reconstructing the real crime that inspired the piece – the case of Michele Di Censo, who killed his wife in 1955 – the author shows how De André transforms a brutal news story into a poetic act of “justice through pity”. Rather than justifying the murderer, the song reimagines his story, granting him a possible life he never lived and thus restoring a form of dignity denied by history and law. The paper situates this approach within De André’s broader ethics of pietas, proposing a justice beyond judgment or redemption
La ballata del Miché: quale giustizia per il colpevole? / Gazzolo, Tommaso. - In: LAWART. - ISSN 2724-654X. - 6(2025), pp. 49-66.
La ballata del Miché: quale giustizia per il colpevole?
gazzolo
2025-01-01
Abstract
The essay explores how Fabrizio De André’s La ballata del Miché articulates a unique conception of justice through song. By reconstructing the real crime that inspired the piece – the case of Michele Di Censo, who killed his wife in 1955 – the author shows how De André transforms a brutal news story into a poetic act of “justice through pity”. Rather than justifying the murderer, the song reimagines his story, granting him a possible life he never lived and thus restoring a form of dignity denied by history and law. The paper situates this approach within De André’s broader ethics of pietas, proposing a justice beyond judgment or redemptionI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
