The tradition of placing a Christmas tree in the middle of St Peter’s Square in the weeks leading up to Christmas was established by Pope John Paul II in 1982.Įach year a tree is donated either by one of Italy’s 20 regions or another European country. “To have saved such an important tree brings me great joy.”īut he said that the custom of chopping down ancient trees to adorn the Vatican should “sooner or later be brought to an end.” “The whole business has had a happy outcome,” said Mr Rapino, the campaigner. The problem appeared close to being resolved on Tuesday when forestry officials said they would give Rosello a tree from another part of Abruzzo so that the town could then donate it to the Vatican. “If there are such problems with that tree then we will have to find another one in one of the region’s plantations, where there are firs that are 25 to 35 metres tall,” said Alessio Monaco, the mayor of Rosello. The whole plan has been suspended as the two regions wrangle over whether to try to identify another tree that can be sent to the Vatican. ![]() To complicate the matter, authorities discovered that the tree in fact grows just across the border in Molise, meaning that the town of Rosello no longer has the right to send it as a gift to the Pope because it does not come under the jurisdiction of Abruzzo.
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