ITALY: THOUSANDS GATHER TO PAY THEIR LAST RESPECTS TO FIAT PATRIARCH GIOVANNI AGNELLI

Record ID: 648314

  • Title: ITALY: THOUSANDS GATHER TO PAY THEIR LAST RESPECTS TO FIAT PATRIARCH GIOVANNI AGNELLI
  • Date: 25th January 2003
  • Summary: (W4) TURIN, ITALY (JANUARY 25, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV/SLV EXTERIOR OF FIAT'S LINGOTTO FACTORY WITH PEOPLE QUEUING 0.06 2. SLV PEOPLE ENTERING ROOM 0.13 3. SV GIRL SIGNING HER NAME AT ENTRANCE OF ROOM 0.18 4. LV/SLV COFFIN OF GIANNI AGNELLI WITH SOLDIERS STANDING ON SIDES AND THE AGNELLI FAMILY STANDING ON THE LEFT (2 SHOTS) 0.31 5. CU FLOWERS AND SOLDIER 0.35 6. SLV/SV OF PEOPLE PASSING IN FRONT OF COFFIN TO PAY TRIBUTE (2 SHOTS) 0.48 7. SV GIANNI AGNELLI'S BROTHER, UMBERTO, SHAKING HANDS WITH PASSING PEOPLE 0.53 8. SV FIAT'S PRESIDENT PAOLO FRESCO SHAKING HANDS WITH PASSING PEOPLE 0.56 9. SV GIANNI AGNELLI'S SISTER, SUSANNA, SHAKING HANDS WITH PASSING PEOPLE 1.05 10. SV FERRARI FORMULA ONE DRIVER MICHAEL SCHUMACHER SHAKING HANDS WITH AGNELLI'S FAMILY 1.28 11. SLV PEOPLE PASSING COFFIN 1.33 12. SV/MCU MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, JEAN TODT AND FERRARI'S PRESIDENT LUCA CORDERO DI MONTEZEMOLO STANDING BY COFFIN (2 SHOTS) 1.53 13. SV PEOPLE PASSING COFFIN 2.01 14. MCU LUCA CORDERO DI MONTEZEMOLO CRYING 2.13 15. CU GIANNI AGNELLI'S WIFE, MARELLA, AND AGNELLI'S NEPHEW, JOHN ELKAN, RECEIVING CONDOLENCES 2.24 16. SLV PEOPLE IN A LINE OFFERING CONDOLENCES 2.29 17. CU BLUE BANNER READING: "FIAT" BY COFFIN 2.33 18. MCU JUVENTUS COACH MARCELLO LIPPI PASSING BY COFFIN 2.41 19. MCU JUVENTUS PLAYER DAVID TREZEGUET 2.50 20. MCU JUVENTUS PLAYER ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO HUGGING UMBERTO AGNELLI, GIANNI'S BROTHER 3.08 21. SLV JUVENTUS SOCCER TEAM BY COFFIN 3.16 22. MCU JUVENTUS GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI BUFFON 3.19 23. SLV PEOPLE QUEUING OUTSIDE ROOM 3.23 24. MCU (Italian) TURIN RESIDENT IN THE QUEUE SAYING: "He was a great gentleman. He did good to everyone." 3.27 25. SLV QUEUE 3.31 26. MCU (Italian) PERSON IN THE QUEUE SAYING: "Agnelli was a great symbol for Turin. His departure will be very bad for all Italians." 3.37 27. SLV PEOPLE QUEUING 3.40 28. SV AGNELLI'S WIFE, MARELLA, LEAVING 3.51 29. SLV PEOPLE QUEUING 3.56 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TURIN, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVA5B7WD9DFNCS930MWRHEHTQVQN
  • Story Text: Ferrari Formula One driver Michael Schumacher bowed
    his head alongside Italians from all walks of life, as
    thousands gathered to pay their last respects to Fiat
    patriarch Giovanni Agnelli, the king of Italian business.



    Giovanni Agnelli, affectionately known as Gianni, was
    given a farewell fit for a king as thousands streamed to pay
    him a last tribute in the northern Italian city of Turin where
    his body was put to lay in state on Saturday (January 25).

    The stylish Italian industrialist who transformed carmaker
    Fiat into a global powerhouse died on Friday (January 24),
    aged 81.

    Even as the one-time jewel of his industrial empire looks
    increasingly tarnished, the man who never shrank from the
    spotlight in life was, in death, accorded the kind of
    attention usually reserved for heads of state and religious
    figures.

    Fiat factory workers, top businessmen, sporting stars and
    union leaders turned up to mourn the man whose empire spanned
    cars and energy as well as Chateaux Margaux wines and Ferrari
    Formula One racing.

    The lavish send-off underscored Agnelli's status as
    Italy's de-facto royal.

    Thousands filed past the coffin laid at Fiat's founding
    Lingotto factory in the heart of Turin, where flags fluttered
    at half-mast under bright blue skies and against a backdrop of
    the snow-capped Alps.

    Banners emblazoned with Fiat logos hung side by side with
    those from his championship-winning soccer team Juventus,
    recalling a man who mourners remembered as much for his
    passion for sport, art collecting and beautiful women as for
    business.

    Police in full-uniforms said the factory would remain open
    all night if necessary.

    Agnelli's surviving dynasty lined up to shake hands with
    those who had come to pay their respects, including Formula
    One racing driver Michael Schumacher, Ferrari chief Luca di
    Montezemolo and the whole of the Juventus football team.

    Agnelli's younger brother Umberto, who is set to take over
    the reins of power stood next to Agnelli's grandson John
    Elkann, tipped to be Fiat's long-term hope.

    Agnelli's death has dominated press and media coverage
    since Friday (January 24) night, with Italy's major newspapers
    reserving more than 10 pages to cover his death, the same
    amount of space they gave the September 11 attacks.

    But the soft-focused nostalgia was mixed with questions
    about how long Fiat's ailing auto-making operations would
    survive without Agnelli, their great defender.

    His younger brother Umberto is seen to be far less
    enamoured with its cars, which in Fiat's heyday and under
    Agnelli's stewardship included design icons like the tiny
    Cinquecento car.

    "Agnelli was a great symbol. His departure will be very
    bad for all Italians," said a man with tears in his eyes as he
    waited for his turn to pass by the coffin.

    On Sunday (January 26), a memorial service is to take
    place in Turin cathedral, followed by a private family
    funeral. Agnelli is expected to be buried next to other
    members of his family.



  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register