The 30-metre-high fir could be cut to become the Christmas tree showcased in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican during the holidays.
But residents of Ledro have written to the pontiff, urging him to avoid what they slammed as an “anachronistic disgrace”.
Locals have also started a petition on Change.org against the tree getting cut and taken to the Vatican which has been signed by 40,000 people so far.
Meanwhile, a lawyer has taken legal action on behalf of local committees and associations to prevent “this useless slaughter”.
“It doesn’t make sense to talk about the damage caused by climate change if we perpetuate customs such as this one, imposing the death of a secular fir tree, a symbol of those millions of trees that are cut in Italy,” they said.
The committees calling for the cut be stopped, led by Lorenzo Vescovi, mentioned the pontiff’s encyclicals calling for the safeguard of the environment, urging him to spare the fir and come visit the valley.
Vescovi said the municipal administration earmarked 60,000 euros to cut and transport the tree.
“[It’s] an excessive sum that could be used for the other needs of the 5000 residents of Ledro,” he said, including local healthcare and transport services.
The petition of Ledro’s residents also suggested the Vatican could “build a permanent artistic tree” using recycled wood “from trees that have fallen due to climate change”.
ANSA
