Recent checkups by tree doctors have revealed the sad fact that 105 of the venerable umbrella pine trees in Rome's Villa Borghese park, celebrated in Italian composer Ottorino Respighi's symphonic Roman Trilogy, are fatally ill. The trees are all in the Piazza di Siena area, where Rome's annual show-jumping championships are held, along with other equestrian spectacles, such as the Carosello dei Carabiniere, where Italy's mounted carabiniere division display their horse-riding skills.
The trees were all planted around the end of the 19 th century and have reached the conclusion of their natural life span. Tests have revealed that, despite their apparent normal appearance, their trunks are internally rotted. Felling operations have already begun.
There are a total number of 887 pines in the Villa Borghese Park, 447 of which have undergone drendodensimetre tests to ascertain their state of health. Rome's city gardening department is making a special effert to lessen the visual impact of the missing trees. They are all to be replaced by 10 metre-high 30 year-old pines grown and acclimatized in a local nursery.
