Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini dies aged 76

Petrini's movement rejected fast food to promote sustainable production and traditional cooking. Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini dies aged 76 in Italy Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Carlo Petrini died on Thursday in his hometown of Bra, his organisation said in a statement Smiling Carlo Petrini poses in front of an red brick wall. He is wearing a dark grey suit jacket and light purple shirt and is clutching a blue scarf with both hands that is around his neck. Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini dies aged 76 Slow Food pioneer Carlo Petrini, who spent four decades promoting sustainable food production and traditional cooking, has died aged 76 in his Italian hometown. He founded the movement with a small group of friends in the countryside following protests against the opening of Italy's first McDonald's in 1986. It quickly spread through the country and eventually expanded into more than 160 others, with Petrini as its president. He became friends with King Charles III and the late Pope Francis through his campaigning. Announcing his death, the organisation said Petrini had been a visionary who "brought to life a global movement rooted in the values of good, clean, and fair food for all". His work connected "communities, farmers, food artisans, cooks, activists, and young people across the world", it added. Italian President Sergio Mattarella said his death left a "huge void not only in the world of food and wine science, but also in society as a whole, and not just in Italy". The then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were pictured with Petrini at Sant'Ambrogio Market in 2017 The King on the left of the image, wearing a navy blue suit, pink shirt and pale blue tie shakes hands with Petrini, who is on the right in a dark blue suit and blue and white striped shirt. The Queen is in the middle smiling in a white dress. Petrini, who was a journalist, set up the grassroots movement under the name Arcigola shortly after demonstrations against McDonald's opening a restaurant in Rome's Piazza di Spagna. By 1989, the Slow Food Manifesto was signed by over 20 global delegates - pledging to "escape the tediousness of fast-food" by "defending old-fashioned food traditions". The movement emphasises quality, environmental sustainability and equitable conditions for producers. Petrini speaks with Italian ham producers during a food festival in Tours in 2011 Petrini is in the centre of the image in a black suit and jumper, with two men in burgundy coloured aprons to each side of him. An unwrapped ham can be seen in the foreground of the picture out of focus. His work saw him become friends with King Charles, as the pair bonded over their shared beliefs in fresh and sustainable food. And in 2013, Petrini said he was "surprised" when Pope Francis telephoned him after he had sent him a book and a letter. He told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: "Our phone conversation ended, with wishes of good health and a mutual embrace. "A world in which one can fraternally embrace a Pope is truly a beautiful world." He died on Thursday in Bra, a town in Italy's north-western Piedmont region, Slow Food said. The Reuters news agency reported that he had in recent years been diagnosed with cancer. Almost 60 firefighters tackled the blaze at Cherrymore Kitchens & Bedrooms, a family-run business in Donegal Town. The fire started at a kitchen and bedroom business in County Donegal on Thursday evening. President Donald Trump says he wants to send more troops to Poland, a week after his officials cancelled a similar deployment. Images from a cave where the four Italians were found reveal the difficulty that rescuers had in recovering their bodies. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary were greeted in the San Damaso Courtyard on Friday morning before meeting the Pope in the Papal Library. A wrap party for the upcoming film Three Incestuous Sisters fell foul of Stromboli's no music on Wednesdays rule. France and Italy are among the countries that have criticised a video showing Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting dozens of activists detained at an Israeli port. The two were among five Italian nationals who drowned in last week's scuba diving accident in the Maldives.