(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 19 - A 200-year-old fir tree that was one
of the most beloved features of a Lake Garda town has been
chopped down to be taken to Rome as the traditional St Peter's
Christmas Tree despite a long and impassioned local protest.
The fir in the Val di Ledro got the axe despite a series of
torch-lit vigils aimed at "saving our fond Green Giant.
"We are very sorry for the felling of a 31-meter fir tree," said
Lorenzo Vescovi, one of the first to raise the protest against
the felling.
"What will arrive in Rome will be a dying living being. "Our
battle does not stop, we want to prevent trees from being felled
in this valley and anywhere else for a cruel and anachronistic
custom". (ANSA).
St Peter's Xmas tree gets the axe despite protests (3)
Battle goes on against 'cruel, anachronistic' practice
