FIAT, Italy's largest company, is likely to move quickly to fill the gap left by Giovanni Alberto Agnelli (33), who had been tagged to take over as chairman next year but died of stomach cancer on Saturday.

Though Agnelli's illness was diagnosed earlier this year, Fiat and its controlling family have been reluctant to publicly discuss the thorny question of management succession.

If Agnelli had lived to take over, it would have put the family name back in the top post again in time for the Fiat's centenary in 1999.

The company was founded by Giovanni Alberto Agnelli's great- great-grandfather, also named Giovanni.

Romiti's successor is unlikely to be another Agnelli family member, said analysts, because there is no candidate with the training or inclination to take the helm.

Fiat's succession problem is a common one at family-owned Italian companies.

The Agnelli family indirectly controls Italy's largest-selling newspaper, Corriere Della Sera, as well as Turin daily La Stampa.