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A group of residents and property owners of Viale della Rimembranza, in Pellaro, has sent an open letter to the Mayor of Reggio Calabria to ask for the suspension of the municipal project to fell and completely replace the ash trees that line the historic artery of the neighborhood.
«The trees that are intended to be removed today do not only constitute a precious element of the city’s arboreal heritage. They were planted over a century ago – the residents recalled – to honor the memory of the forty-five young people from Pellare who died during the First World War and still today represent a living symbol of sacrifice, collective memory and the roots of our community. Each trunk tells a story and holds memories that belong not only to the residents of this street, but to the entire city of Reggio Calabria.
For many of us these trees have accompanied our entire existence. Under their shadow families grew up, people met, memories and values were passed down. For over a century they have observed the flow of life in Pellaro, having acted as silent witnesses to the events of at least five generations of Pellaro residents. For this reason they do not just represent a tree heritage, but a living part of our collective identity, our memory and our sense of belonging. No new planting, however valuable, will ever be able to restore the historical, cultural, landscape and emotional value that they embody. Their indiscriminate replacement would constitute an irreversible loss and a profound wound to the memory of our community.”
The residents say they are «aware that the care and safety of the arboreal heritage constitutes a duty of the Administration. Precisely for this reason we do not ask that the necessary interventions be neglected, but that they be limited to the maintenance of healthy specimens and the care or, only where strictly indispensable and adequately motivated, to the replacement of only the truly compromised trees, in full compliance with the rules, constraints and principles that protect historic trees and the landscape heritage.
We also believe it is necessary to highlight that, already in the past, a large group of residents had formulated concrete proposals aimed at improving the traffic of this avenue which, due to its strategic position as the main gateway to Pellaro from the north and the intense traffic that passes through it daily, constitutes the real critical element for the safety of citizens and the homes that overlook it. Those proposals, although inspired solely by public interest, unfortunately remained without follow-up.
We are well aware that the current Administration has inherited problems that have developed over the years. Precisely for this reason we trust in your institutional sensitivity so that we can seize this opportunity not to fuel divisions, but to inaugurate a method based on listening and participation”.
Hence the request «to suspend the start of the works and to promote an open, transparent and constructive discussion with residents, with local associations and with all interested citizens, in order to identify truly shared solutions that combine safety, urban redevelopment and the protection of a historical, environmental and identity heritage that belongs to the entire community.
We are convinced that a community grows when the most important decisions are made together with citizens and not simply communicated.
Pellaro has demonstrated in recent days, with composure and civic sense, his deep attachment to these places and his opposition to the choices proposed. We believe this voice deserves to be heard with respect and attention.”
Finally, the residents also trust «in the authoritative intervention of the Superintendence so that the significant historical, landscape and monumental value of these trees, created to preserve the memory of the fallen and which have become, over time, an integral part of the identity of our territory, is carefully evaluated».