A network of 57 restaurants
in China has joined a Slow Food fundraising campaign for the
victims of a devastating August 24 earthquake in central Italy.
The restaurants - of which 15 in Beijing and 12 in Shanghai
- will donate money from every dish of "pasta all'amatriciana"
served until November 24.
Amatrice, a village in the Apennine mountains in the Lazio
region that was largely flattened by the quake, is also the
birthplace of the world-famous "amatriciana" pasta sauce based
on cured pork cheek, pecorino cheese, and tomato.
The 'A Future for Amatrice' campaign - launched by Slow
Food in agreement with Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi on August
25, the day following the earthquake that killed hundreds -
calls on restaurants around the world to put pasta
all'amatriciana on their menu for a year, with two euros from
every dish served to go to the quake relief fund.
The campaign in China is supported by the Italian embassy
and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China.
Many Chinese businesses and individuals have made donations
for quake relief in Italy since August, and the Chinese embassy
in Rome donated 100,000 euros to the Italian Red Cross for quake
relief, Italian Ambassador Ettore Sequi remarked.
"We want to contribute and to avoid the risk of the initial
generous impetus and attention wearing off after a couple of
weeks," said Slow Food founder and chief, Claudio Petrini, on
the day of the launch.
"Amatriciana pasta is a humble dish, symbolic of a farming
culture that is based on solidarity".
The donations - with one euro coming from the restaurateur
and one euro from the client for every "amatriciana" dish served
- go to benefit the City of Amatrice, whose International
Bank Account Number (IBAN) is IT28M0832773470000000006000.
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