Pirelli chairman quits Libyan investment fund

* Tronchetti sat on Libyan Investment Authority committee

* Fund owns about 2.6 pct of UniCredit

MILAN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Pirelli & C SpA (PECI.MI) Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera has resigned from the advisory board of UniCredit shareholder Libyan Investment Authority because of Libyan turmoil, a Pirelli spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

"The decision has been taken in the face of the tragic events that are hitting the Libyan people," the spokeswoman at the Italian tyre company said.

The Libyan Investment Authority is UniCredit's (CRDI.MI) eighth-largest shareholder with around 2.6 percent. The Central Bank of Libya owns nearly 5 percent.

Tronchetti Provera joined the investment committee of the Libyan sovereign wealth fund in March 2009. (Reporting by Gabriella Bruschi, Writing by Lisa Jucca)