Publishing date: 24 March 2026 Immagine notizia Immagine Paragrafo Varese is also paying tribute to Dario Fo on the centenary of his birth, which took place in Sangiano on 24 March 1926, and on the tenth anniversary of his death, on 13 October 2016 in Milan. The great artist’s life marked a century of Italian cultural and civic history, through theatre – which earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997 – songs, painting, his first vocation, and his constant commitment to defending civil rights, always shared with Franca Rame, his partner in life and work.The national calendar of celebrations promoted by the Fo Rame Foundation will include a number of significant events organised by the Municipality of Varese and the University of Insubria, as well as a contribution from the Tra Sacro e Sacro Monte Festival, with initiatives focusing on the bond between the two great artists and the local area, a presence that was never missing from their tours and where a theatre in Luino has borne their name since March 2025. Among the many performances and opportunities to meet audiences in the province, one particularly significant date was 17 June 2015, when Fo was welcomed to the Aula Magna of the University of Insubria for the presentation of the book “A Man Burned Alive. The Story of Ion Cazacu”, written by the Nobel laureate with Florina Cazacu, the victim’s daughter. The event was organised by Professor Gianmarco Gaspari with Sabatino Annechiarico, Giulio Facchetti and Alessandra Vicentini. On that occasion, Fo was moved as he recalled that it was there, in the former Sant’Ambrogio college, once run by nuns, that his Franca had studied during the years of her youth spent in Varese, in the house in Via Walder. “And sometimes she would fall asleep during lessons because the night before she had been performing around the province with her family of commedia dell’arte actors”, the Nobel laureate recalled. Immagine The Romanian worker Ion Cazacu was killed in 2000 in Gallarate by his employer, who, at the height of an argument, doused him with petrol and set him on fire: he died after a week of agony. The Municipality of Varese intends to start precisely from this story, as narrated by Dario Fo, for its contribution to the centenary. A painting exhibition conceived as a reflection on the world of work and denied rights is currently being planned: curated by Culture Councillor Enzo Laforgia, it is expected to open in the autumn in the spaces of the Civic Museums of Villa Mirabello.“We want to remember Dario Fo starting from one of the themes that most deeply ran through his work: labour and human dignity,” comments Culture Councillor Enzo Laforgia. “The exhibition at Villa Mirabello will be an opportunity to revisit his artistic and civic vision, which remains highly relevant today.”The University of Insubria is taking part in the celebrations with a programme that brings together teaching, research and cultural promotion. Two courses taught by Elena Valentina Maiolini, Chair of Italian Literature, will be partly devoted to the study of the Nobel laureate’s work: Twentieth-Century Italian Literature and Teaching Italian Literature. The aim is for this to lead to degree dissertation projects on Dario Fo for the degree programmes in Communication Sciences and Languages and Skills for Education, to be rewarded with study opportunities and collaboration with the Fo Rame Foundation. In the autumn, the University will also host a performance of Dario Fo’s work on its premises by actress Marina De Juli, who was born in the province of Varese and was part of the Fo Rame company for many years. Immagine “Bringing Dario Fo into university teaching means presenting him to new generations in all his complexity,” observes Paola Biavaschi, Director of the Department of Human Sciences and Innovation for the Local Area. “His work continues to question the present and offers valuable tools for a critical reading of reality.”Also at Insubria, particular attention will be devoted to the “storytelling performance” on Saint Francis, which Fo staged in 1997 with an interesting and controversial interpretation. Elena Valentina Maiolini will study the text, also through preparatory materials such as handwritten notes and scripts, a text that takes on special significance in the year marking the eighth centenary of the death of the Friar of Assisi (1226–2026).“Lu santo jullare Francesco” itself will be staged in July by Mario Pirovano, one of the most important interpreters of Fo’s theatre, at the fourteenth chapel of the Sacro Monte, as part of the Tra Sacro e Sacro Monte Festival directed by Andrea Chiodi.“For our family, Varese is an important place, linked to deep memories and to Franca’s story,” emphasises Mattea Fo, granddaughter of the “Nobel couple” and President of the Fo Rame Foundation. “It is significant that initiatives capable of bringing together memory, art and civic engagement should start from here.” All updated initiatives are available on the page: www.centenariodariofo.it In the photographs: Dario Fo in the Aula Magna of the University of Insubria in Varese on 17 June 2015, for the presentation of the book “A Man Burned Alive”, written with Florina Cazacu. The photographs show various moments from the afternoon: the Nobel laureate and Florina Cazacu welcomed by the then Rector Alberto Coen Porisini, Professors Gianmarco Gaspari, Sabatino Annechiarico and Alessandra Vicentini, and Director General Gianni Penzo Doria; in the Aula Magna, the audience included many professors, journalists and technical and administrative staff from the University.