Francesco Di Giacomo

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
Francesco Di Giacomo of Banco, at a concert in Frascati, 2009
Background information
Also known as	Banco
Origin	Italy
Genres	Progressive rock, Italian progressive rock, art rock
Years active	1969–current
Labels	Ricordi, Manticore, EMI, Sony
Website	bancodelmutuosoccorso.it
Members	Vittorio Nocenzi Rodolfo Maltese Tiziano Ricci Maurizio Masi Filippo Marcheggiani Alessandro Papotto
Past members	Francesco Di Giacomo Gianni Nocenzi Claudio Falco Fabrizio Falco Franco Pontecorvi Marcello Todaro Renato D'Angelo Pierluigi Calderoni Gianni Colaiacomo Karl Potter ()

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso is an Italian rock band. A popular progressive rock band in the 1970s, they continued making music in the 1980s and 1990s. Recently, they were still active, playing live in 2001 and 2008 at NEARfest. Their charismatic frontman, , died in 2014.

Inspired by progressive rock acts from England, in particular Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, keyboardists and his brother founded Banco del Mutuo Soccorso in Rome, Italy. They later recorded their eponymous debut in 1972, soon to be followed by Darwin!, and in 1973 Io sono nato libero. Right from the start the most striking features of their sound was the complex texture provided by the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers played by the Nocenzi brothers, plus the original vocals delivered by Francesco Di Giacomo. A careful balance of electronic and acoustic instruments, plus the use of reeds (played by some of the members of the band, in addition to their usual instrument), made the sound of Banco increasingly original and innovative, with a blend of rock, jazz and classical music which did not however forsake the Italian melodic tradition.

Proving popular in Italy and becoming known abroad, the band signed with Manticore Records together with the Premiata Forneria Marconi. In 1975 Banco was released, a collection of translated songs together with new material, targeting the international market. Come in un'ultima cena was also translated as As in a Last Supper.