The last of the big trees in Barga Vecchia were cut down this afternoon. The 4 large pine trees which have shaded the piazza in Via Pretorio are no more.
Local residents can remember the trees being there for the last 50 years or so. A quick check on the rings on the cut trunks today lends weight to their estimate.
The Assessore alla Protezione Civile Pietro Onesti, who was on the scene early this morning with the technicians from the Comunità Montana Media Valle del Serchio, informed some of the local residents that trees have over the years been allowed to become just too tall for their roots system and have become unstable. In high winds they could possibly crash onto the houses around them and so the decision was taken to cut them down.
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Apparently olive trees will be planted in the piazza once the roots from the pine trees have all been removed. Olive trees are noted for their slow growing powers and poor shadow giving properties so it may be some time before that particular piazza returns to how it once was but at least the people living around the piazza can sleep easier in their beds at night when there are high winds.
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There has always been fierce polemic whenever trees are cut down in Barga, just look at the following articles over the years; the Marine Pines outside Porta Reale 1999, pine trees 2003, the Lebanese Cedar tree 2004, pine tree 2004, the plane trees, the tiglio trees, the apple trees,