The spectre of Spelacchio, the much-maligned “threadbare” Christmas tree that blighted Rome during the tenure of former mayor Virginia Raggi, has returned to the eternal city.
The Italian capital's new iteration of the festive landmark in the centre of the city has been slammed by locals, due to the huge and allegedly unsightly solar panels that power its bulbs.
The tree, which has just been erected in Piazza Venezia, the square from which Mussolini delivered his speeches, has been dubbed 'Fotovoltacchio', or 'ugly photovoltaic tree', by critics.
However, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri defended his centre-left administration's decision to make this year's tree environmentally friendly.
"We made the right choice, it's a choice marked by sustainability, practical but also symbolic," he said.
"We are in a time in which Europe is seeing the horror of war, so many cities in Ukraine are without electricity, and the price of energy is very high: we have a duty to promote renewable energy.”
