No more wild pruning of Rome's pine trees. Italia Nostra's (and Brian May's) complaint.

No more wild pruning of Rome’s pine trees: this is what Italia Nostra is calling for, complaining about the treatment that the capital’s magnificent trees, and in particular the pines on Viale Colombo, continue to suffer. Pines are a symbol of Rome, just as the Colosseum, the Vatican, Piazza Navona are, because they “sing everywhere the glory and beauty of Rome,” Italia Nostra communicates in a tweet. The problem is that these magnificent trees in recent times have been attacked by a parasite that, in the absence of treatment, causes their death within a few years.

To remedy the problem, the City of Rome has opted for pruning, but according to Italia Nostra there is a less invasive solution: an endotherapy based on abamectin, an insecticide prescribed by the Ministry of Health that would avoid harmful pruning. “About this we have to ask the Assessore directly once again,” Italia Nostra says. “Why do you prune them? Why spend far more money than the cure? Why not listen to the most accredited bodies? Why not allocate those funds to cure ’immediately’ all those left behind, which may soon be sad skeletons of ’standing dead trees? Science, as is often authoritatively said, must be listened to. Why not this time?”

Also lending support to Italia nostra last May 29 came an Instagram post by Brian May, Queen’s guitarist, who shot a 22-second video while walking down Viale Colombo itself, praising Rome’s pine trees and blaming pruning: "These trees are the beautiful, iconic signature of Rome. They enchant me. Umbrella Pines! [in Italian, ed.] Umbrella trees. Pines that grow on stone. Pinus Pinea. I’ve found all about their origins on the Internet, but no one tells me anything about why their foliage grows so high above the ground, with a clear line of demarcation. Why? My theory is that in ancient Rome was full of hungry giraffes. Do you have a better theory?"

Image: pine trees at the Baths of Caracalla. Photo by Italia Nostra

No more wild pruning of Rome's pine trees. Italia Nostra's (and Brian May's) complaint.

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