Ciao Carlin: remembering the man who taught the Langhe the value of friendship and slowness
A strange emptiness has settled over the Langhe hills since Carlin left us. It feels unusual because a man like him—accustomed to filling rooms and piazzas with his booming voice and generous warmth—seems impossible to associate with silence. Yet, if you listen closely to the wind blowing through our vineyards, you can still hear the echo of a revolution that wasn’t born in grand institutional palaces, but over a plate of tajarin pasta and a glass of red wine.
Today, as the entire world honors him as the legendary founder of Slow Food, the original visionary gastronome who shaped the new generation of gastronomes at UNISG (University of Gastronomic Sciences), and the mastermind behind turning our hills into a UNESCO World Heritage site, we want to remember the man. Because before becoming a global icon, Carlin was one of us. He was someone who knew that great ideas are only born when fueled by irony, shared moments, and, above all, true friendship.
Osteria dell’Unione and the Bra Crew: Azio and Giovanni
To truly understand Carlin, one must take a step back, leave international conferences behind, and return to our Piedmontese hills or those endless dinners where the world’s problems were solved. It is impossible to speak of him without mentioning his two lifelong brothers and partners in utopia: Azio Citi and Giovanni Ravinale.
They were the joyful engine behind that group of “madmen” who shook up the Piedmontese province in the 1970s and 1980s. Together with them, Carlin pioneered free communication through the airwaves of Radio Bra Onde Rosse. Together, they realized that local folk culture was not something to be forgotten, but the greatest treasure to preserve. There was a profound, playful irreverence in their way of driving politics and culture: they laughed, they sang, and in doing so, they planted the seeds of what would become the worldwide manifesto for “Good, Clean, and Fair” food.
From Club Tenco to Renzo Arbore: High-Profile “Pop” Culture
Carlin possessed a unique ability to bridge seemingly distant worlds. He brought the Langhe region to Sanremo—not to the famous commercial pop festival, but to Club Tenco, where Italian songwriting and poetry stripped themselves of intellectualism to become pure emotion, much like a great aged wine. In 1980, Carlin and his friends brought Le Nete (the legendary folk-singing twins from Trinità) to the festival. It was there that singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini noticed them and recommended them to showman Renzo Arbore, making television history.
While Arbore looked for genius in music and television, Carlin looked for it in the calloused hands of a Toma di Murazzano cheese maker or a capon breeder from Morozzo. They were two sides of the same coin: the relentless search for beauty in authentic things.
A Legacy Built on Human Connections
As the entire Langhe region comes together to honor the memory of Carlo Petrini, we understand that his legacy goes far beyond books, Slow Food Presidia, or the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. It is the method he left behind. He taught us that one can speak with world leaders or the Pope while keeping the exact same understanding, warm gaze used when talking to the farmer tending the vineyard right behind his house.
He taught us to overcome the historical, petty rivalries between our small villages in order to network and build a true, supportive community.
We will miss you, Carlin. We will miss your innate ability to transform the dining table into an act of freedom. But we promise you that every time we uncork a bottle to share it with our closest friends, celebrating the pure joy of living, you will be right there with us. Ready to stir up a little rabel—our beloved, joyful chaos!
