‘He left an incredible mark’: how a festival organiser’s murder galvanised Venice’s underground music scene

At 26, Venezia Hardcore co-founder Giacomo Gobbato was killed while protecting a stranger on the streets of Venice – a death that’s become a rallying cry for a city in crisis

As you enter the Centro Sociale Rivolta, a former confectionary factory in the industrial neighbourhood of Marghera in Venice that has been occupied by squatters for the last 30 years, a large banner spells out two words: “Jack lives”. More than 2,000 people will see the banner this weekend when they arrive at Venezia Hardcore, a festival that began in a rehearsal room among friends and has become one of the most important counterculture events in Europe.

This year’s event will feature Jivebomb’s furious hardcore from the US, Violent Magic Orchestra’s techno black metal from Japan, and Italian bands such as cult screamo outfit La Quiete, political street punk four-piece Klasse Kriminale and local heroes Confine. But the star of the festival will stand out due to his absence: 2025 will be the first edition of Venezia Hardcore without Giacomo “Jack” Gobbato, a musician and activist who was stabbed to death in September by a robber who had attacked a woman Gobbato was trying to defend.