City promises four new trees for every tree felled

The contentious tree-felling operation to make way for metro C works in the S. Giovanni area has been stalled until 8 October while the city "verifies" Roma Metropolitane's plans to cut 99 trees and 46 large shrubs to make way for the new metro line.

However according to claims by Monti-based Green party councillor Nathalie Naim, who is leading the protests against the tree-felling, bulldozers had begun clearing the gardens of the 16th-century Villa Rivaldi opposite the Colosseum (above the metro stop and towards Via Cavour) to provide space for construction equipment and materials related to the troubled metro C project. The works at Villa Rivaldi are also now on hold until 8 October.

Naim said that other clearance works at the Belvedere Antonio Cederna (between the Colosseum metro stop and Villa Rivaldi) are due to the fact that they can not take place on the Via dei Fori Imperiali below.

Naim told La Repubblica newspaper that Villa Rivaldi and the Belvedere Cederna could have been left untouched if the city had completely closed Via dei Fori Imperiali to traffic, "as requested by the superintendent."

The city's environment councillor Estella Marino has promised that four new trees will be planted in the capital for every tree cut due the Metro C works.

Photo La Repubblica