Rome may be known as the Eternal City, but in order for its green spaces to survive the millions of annual tourists and lounging locals, many of them need a revamp—and luckily, a revamp is on the way.
This month, the city will kick off a €12 million (US$13.4 million) plan to revitalize 20 of its parks and gardens. The green patches around the Colosseum will get a makeover, as will city parks, including Parco Nemorense, Parco Collina della Pace, and Parco dell’Acqua e del Vino, plus the gardens at the sprawling Villa Borghese, Giardino del Monte Oppio, Villa Flora, Villa Doria Pamphilj, and Villa Sciarra.
“We’re finally investing in the parks and historic villas of Rome, with notable sums of money and transparent tenders,” said Rome’s mayor Virginia Raggi in a statement, reports The Local Italy.
The work will vary by green space, but it will include general maintenance and cleaning, fixing benches and fountains, planting new trees, installing security cameras, and adding sports facilities. Many of these changes are ones residents have been calling for for decades, Raggi acknowledged.
Since taking office in 2017, Raggi has been trying to clean up the city, which some Romans have called “the great rubbish dump” due to disrepair, pollution, congestion, and piles of trash on the streets. Raggi has banned tourist buses in Rome’s center, instituted fines for anyone caught eating and drinking around 40 fountains with historical significance, and even fulfilled her promise to add a stretch of beach along the Tiber River near the Marconi Bridge in 2018.
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