It’s a rainy night in Rome and the Hacienda, on the south-east side of the city, is half full when I get there. Fear not, the house is fully sold out tonight for the second show the italian band Ministri [Ministers] are playing in Rome as part of their 2025 tour in support of the latest album Aurora Popolare . Their short stint across the country saw them play in Roncade, Florence, Milan, Turin and Rome before finishing off their tour in Molfetta tomorrow.
Warming up the crowd for the two roman shows is the local band The Light Drown. The Emo/Darkwave trio-become-quintet presented several tracks off their debut album Manifesto (2025) which was recorded and produced by Divi, the frontman and bass player from Ministri. Their set was very well received by the crowd which participated attentively as the room filled up.
At 10pm sharp the lights go down and Ministri get on stage. The band consists of Davide “Divi” Autelitano (bass and vocals) Federico Dragogna (guitar and backing vocals) and Michele Esposito (drums). The three are joined on stage by Marco Ulcigrai (guitar, backing vocals).
The first song on the setlist is “Avvicinarsi alle casse” from their latest record Aurora Popolare, it’s a highly-energetic guitar-driven tune which invites the audience to get closer to the stage with a clever play on words [casse means both tills, as per in the song, and speakers]. Then it’s time for the title track “Aurora Popolare,” a track on juvenile activism and knowing that most of the revolutions we collectively fell in love with have failed, still it is one of the least disillusioned tracks in their catalogue.
The set continues mixing old and new tracks from their 20-year long career: “Il Sole (è importante che non ci sia),” “Poveri Noi,” “Buuum,” “Comunque.” Throught the whole set, the Autelitano had fun translating their song titles in english hence “Comunque” became “Anyway.”
“Piangere al Lavoro” off their latest record is a song about work-life balance and the physical and emotional strain our modern work-centric society is putting on the average person. It’s a sing-along-y cheerful tune which doesn’t hide its bitter side.
The band keeps on building the energy of the set with “Gli Alberi,” “Squali Nella Bibbia,” “La Mia Giornata Che Tace” to lead into their breakthrough single “Tempi Bui” from the album by the same name Tempi Bui (2009.) The main set ends, after playing “Sabotaggi” and “Spaventi”, with a deeply-emotional intimate rendition of “Il Bel Canto” with Federico Dragogna remaining alone on stage with his acoustic guitar and Divi sitting and signing among the crowd. After a long audience-led sing-along to the final chorus, the singer embraces its fans before leaving the stage.
Not a much later, due to great demand, the band is back on stage for a 5-songs encore that sees the band play some old fan favourites including “Bevo,” which the band feels urged to state that it is not a drinking song, rather it discusses the challenges of alcohol abuse in a cheerful tone, which sometimes may fall on deaf ears. To their own admission it might have been due to the fact they were probably too young when it was released. “Spingere” sees the crowd erupts in one last circle before the final song “Abituarsi Alla Fine,” from their debut album I Soldi Sono Finiti (2006). The long coda of which saw Divi surfing the crowd as he flies his Aurora Popolare flag.
GALLERY: Ministri at Hacienda in Rome, Italy (November 21, 2025)
