News from Italy
Anna Maria Tardiolo– At the inauguration of the Christmas tree in Piazza Venezia last December 8, the new mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri said that this “is a Christmas under the banner of Light and Sustainability that aims to combine the holiday period with a moment of reflection on the objectives that the UN has identified for guarantee a better future for all of us “.
The tree has therefore become the symbol of change: not only compared to the past administration but also for the objectives of a sustainable future for the Eternal City, the people it welcomes and for the promises announced. To the magnificent and imposing tree that tends there its top towards the sky in the middle of the central flowerbed in Piazza Venezia, a article in the New York Times that highlighted its energy efficiency, being illuminated with thousands of LED lights and at the same time, the purpose of the symbolic gifts gathered at his feet. Packages are marked with a QR code that can be scanned to read how you can make Rome more sustainable.
For example, box 12 invites you to support socially responsible and ethical brands, to donate used clothes and buy second-hand. In addition to the 17 boxes present, the number 18 dedicated entirely to children and illustrated by the artist Lorenzo Terranova who through his drawings represents the possibility of carrying out actions to be done at home or at school, teaching children to contribute to a sustainable future. The road that Rome has taken towards the realization of its projects for a more sustainable city also passes through the planting of trees. A few days before the inauguration of the Christmas tree, on November 29, the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, the director of the United Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO), Qu Dongyu, the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini had participated in the planting of trees at the G20 Green Garden in Rome within the Appia Park Ancient; an open-air exhibition that celebrates the biodiversity, nature and the ancient heritage of the city appealing to global solidarity to create a sustainable future for People, Planet, Prosperity. The initiative was launched in June on the occasion of the Italian Presidency of the G20 and the ceremony was also attended by students of the Agricultural Institute of Rome. In fact, trees represent the future, a better one and are a reminder for the younger generations of the commitments that have been made for this purpose. The trees planted were donated by the Lazio Region as part of the Oxygen project, an initiative aimed at combating climate change, limiting carbon dioxide emissions and protecting biodiversity through the planting of six thousand trees throughout the Lazio region.
Rome is therefore preparing for a new, possible vision aimed at rethinking metropolitan development and its hinterland by offering its population opportunities for economic development, services and culture capable of attracting and stimulating a socially and ethically sustainable life. There is still a long way to go and there are no certain answers, but, of course, we have begun to think, identify new objectives that could lead to greater awareness of the preservation of the values of nature, history, culture in which sustainability remains central. In this sense, Rome has great opportunities and resources for change. The journey has just begun.