Rome environment councillor Sabrina Alfonsi defends €14 million Piazza Risorgimento makeover in video response, as CNN report on dead trees and unusable benches draws fire from opposition politicians.Rome's city council has pushed back after CNN aired a report criticising Piazza Risorgimento, the square near the Vatican redeveloped as part of Jubilee works, describing it as a sweltering heat island beset by dead vegetation and unusable street furniture.In a widely-shared video posted on social media, CNN showed the piazza as an example of the difficulty cities face in building cooling projects able to withstand extreme heat. In her report, CNN correspondent Barbie Latza Nadeau said Rome had spent millions redesigning the square with trees, water misting stations and fountains to help people cope with the heat, but that just over a year later, many of the trees had died, the water installations had stopped working, and some benches had become too hot to sit on. The broadcaster also noted that, according to AccuWeather, Rome's average daily high currently sits just under 38°C, and that city officials had attributed the death of the trees and plants to the extreme heat. The report echoes concerns raised in recent weeks by other outlets, including the French newspaper Le Monde, over the felling of trees and thinning vegetation across the Italian capital.   Opposition reacts Rome's centre-right opposition seized on the CNN report, using it to take aim at the administration of centre-left mayor Roberto Gualtieri, particularly ahead of next year's elections. Marco Perissa, of the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia, said that when one of the world's most authoritative broadcasters held up Rome as an example of what not to do in urban redevelopment, it showed that the failure of the Gualtieri administration was now plain for all to see. He said it was unacceptable that €14 million in public funds had been spent on a project that now exposed the capital to ridicule in front of international public opinion, adding that Rome deserved far better. Regional councillor Luisa Regimenti of the centre-right Forza Italia claimed that the environmental damage caused in the Jubilee squares - where tall trees had been replaced with concrete that pushed summer ground temperatures above 50°C - had now crossed national borders and, through the CNN report, exposed to the world the failure of an urban redevelopment carried out without any real vision for the city.   Alfonsi responds Rome's environment councillor, Sabrina Alfonsi, responded directly in a video filmed in the Piazza Risorgimento. Wielding a yellow water hose, she noted that heat was rising again and more water was being given to the plants, pointing out that until very recently cars had driven through the piazza, and that 2,000 square metres of asphalt had been removed and replaced with permeable material, with 75 per cent of the surface now pedestrianised. She acknowledged that some of the plants installed there had indeed suffered in recent weeks, but said this was the result of an exceptional heatwave, as seen in many cities around the world, adding that the plants were now well cared for and healthy. Alfonsi said it was ironic that lessons on climate change were being given by the same politicians who had denied it for years, adding that her administration preferred to tackle the issue through investment. She said Rome was one of the Italian cities investing most heavily in climate adaptation, having planted tens of thousands of trees, strengthened its heat emergency plan and created climate shelters. Alfonsi also pointed to the constraints imposed by heritage protections on Rome's historic squares, saying the rules governing planting needed to change in agreement with the heritage authorities in order to allow more trees without compromising the city's historic character. The exchange marks the latest row in a broader debate over the legacy of Rome's Jubilee-linked redevelopment projects, as the city endures one of its hottest summers on record. Earlier this month, local media reported that the city council was planning to install a "bioclimatic cooling tree" designed to lower temperatures by around 10 degrees, in one of the capital's most sun-exposed public squares: the treeless Piazza del Cinquecento in front of Termini station. Photo credit: REPORT / Shutterstock.com

Rome's city council has pushed back after CNN aired a report criticising Piazza Risorgimento, the square near the Vatican redeveloped as part of Jubilee works, describing it as a sweltering heat island beset by dead vegetation and unusable street furniture. In a widely-shared video posted on social media, CNN showed the piazza as an example of the difficulty cities face in building cooling projects able to withstand extreme heat. In her report, CNN correspondent Barbie Latza Nadeau said Rome had spent millions redesigning the square with trees, water misting stations and fountains to help people cope with the heat, but that just over a year later, many of the trees had died, the water installations had stopped working, and some benches had become too hot to sit on. The broadcaster also noted that, according to AccuWeather, Rome's average daily high currently sits just under 38°C, and that city officials had attributed the death of the trees and plants to the extreme heat. The report echoes concerns raised in recent weeks by other outlets, including the French newspaper Le Monde, over the felling of trees and thinning vegetation across the Italian capital.   Rome's centre-right opposition seized on the CNN report, using it to take aim at the administration of centre-left mayor Roberto Gualtieri, particularly ahead of next year's elections. Marco Perissa, of the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia, said that when one of the world's most authoritative broadcasters held up Rome as an example of what not to do in urban redevelopment, it showed that the failure of the Gualtieri administration was now plain for all to see. He said it was unacceptable that €14 million in public funds had been spent on a project that now exposed the capital to ridicule in front of international public opinion, adding that Rome deserved far better. Regional councillor Luisa Regimenti of the centre-right Forza Italia claimed that the environmental damage caused in the Jubilee squares - where tall trees had been replaced with concrete that pushed summer ground temperatures above 50°C - had now crossed national borders and, through the CNN report, exposed to the world the failure of an urban redevelopment carried out without any real vision for the city.   Rome's environment councillor, Sabrina Alfonsi, responded directly in a video filmed in the Piazza Risorgimento. Wielding a yellow water hose, she noted that heat was rising again and more water was being given to the plants, pointing out that until very recently cars had driven through the piazza, and that 2,000 square metres of asphalt had been removed and replaced with permeable material, with 75 per cent of the surface now pedestrianised. She acknowledged that some of the plants installed there had indeed suffered in recent weeks, but said this was the result of an exceptional heatwave, as seen in many cities around the world, adding that the plants were now well cared for and healthy. Alfonsi said it was ironic that lessons on climate change were being given by the same politicians who had denied it for years, adding that her administration preferred to tackle the issue through investment. She said Rome was one of the Italian cities investing most heavily in climate adaptation, having planted tens of thousands of trees, strengthened its heat emergency plan and created climate shelters. Alfonsi also pointed to the constraints imposed by heritage protections on Rome's historic squares, saying the rules governing planting needed to change in agreement with the heritage authorities in order to allow more trees without compromising the city's historic character. The exchange marks the latest row in a broader debate over the legacy of Rome's Jubilee-linked redevelopment projects, as the city endures one of its hottest summers on record. Earlier this month, local media reported that the city council was planning to  designed to lower temperatures by around 10 degrees, in one of the capital's most sun-exposed public squares: the treeless Piazza del Cinquecento in front of Termini station. Photo credit: REPORT / Shutterstock.com