Clara & Gigi Padovani

In the beginning, there was the red flag
Carlo Petrini on the balcony of the Arci Langhe and PDUP offices in a building in the historic district of Bra, a small city in southern Piemonte where he was born in 1949. A cultural and political event coordinator, he participated in youth and student movements in 1968 before dedicating himself to the culture of food and conviviality.

The three posters (1979-1981) of Canté i'jeuv
Organized by Arci Langhe, this event took place during the spring of 1979 in Bra, the first festival of popular songs inspired by the tradition of "cantar le uova":during the night Petrini and young people from the association would go about playing music for the farms of the Langhe and Roero. The idea was to organise a manifestation that would replicate that type of music in the town square. Many groups arrived from all over Europe, making it a great success.

The three posters (1979-1981) of Canté i'jeuv
The poster for the second edition, which took place in 1980.

The three posters (1979-1981) of Canté i'jeuv
The last year the festival was held was 1980. At that time there were problems with late payments from the Region of Piemonte. For this reason, the young people from Arci Langhe decided to throw themselves into a commercial activity to recover a bit of cash and pay off the debts they had accumulated. It was the birth of the Spaccio di Unità Popolare and the desire to dedicate themselves to the food of Petrini & Co.: from cultural events coordinators to popularizers of the bounty of a territory.

Dancing and singing on the farm
A photo of a Canté i'euv held at a farmhouse in the Langhe: To the right, a twenty-something Carlin, in the background with a hat is Silvio Barbero (not national secretary of Slow Food) and in the middle with the beard, Giovanni Ravinale, to whom the book is dedicated together with the producer of Barolo, Bartolo Mascarello (the photograph belongs to the Slow Food Archive, taken by Tino Gerbaldo).

Songs and a glass of wine
A moment of Canté i'euv in the Piazza XX Settembre in Bra, just a few steps from the office of Slow Food in Via Mendicità Instruita. Carlin is in the foreground.

Pass the accordion
Carlo Petrini assumed the role of policeman during Canté i'euv to help the “canterni”

The Pied Piper
Everyone following Carlin with his accordian along the road of the Langhe, during the night of the Canté i'euv.