Italy bids farewell to Agnelli

" As soon as his death was reported, newspapers and TVs throughout the world focused on this event "
Cardinal Severino Poletto
Archbishop of Turin

Thousands gathered at Turin's cathedral to attend the ceremony - which was also broadcast live on Italian television.

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi were among the dignitaries attending.

Agnelli, who died on Friday morning aged 81, was to be buried later on Sunday in a private ceremony outside the city.

Cardinal Severino Poletto, the archbishop of Turin, paid homage to the man who was Italy's leading industrialist.

"As soon as his death was reported, newspapers and TVs throughout the world focused on this event," he told mourners at the mass.

Popular figure

On Saturday, people lined up to pay their last respects to Agnelli.

Some waited three hours to see a man associated with such icons of Italian life as Ferrari and the Juventus Football Club.

"He was an exceptional person," said Roberto Martinengo, a 43-year-old hospital worker who stood in line on crutches on the factory roof.

"He gave thousands of people jobs, allowed them to put food on the table."

The country's minister for expatriate Italians, Mirko Tremaglia, has appealed to all Italians living aboard to observe a minute's silence during the funeral service.

"He was a man who had real veneration for his country, for work, and for sport," he said.

"He was the most famous Italian in the world."

The chairman of Fiat, Paolo Fresco, told reporters on Sunday that the death of Gianni Agnelli would change nothing at the century-old company, which has been in financial difficulties.

"I think that the best way to honour his memory is to make every effort to overcome the current difficulties and have a stronger Fiat which can succeed," he said.