«Where are the trees?» The question posed by Matteo Casali concerns Via Paolo III, where in 2019 an Arengo petition called for replanting trees that had been cut down — and where, seven years later, nothing has been planted. But the councillor from Repubblica Futura used it to open a broader debate that ran through the entire afternoon session of Council Commission IV on Wednesday: what actually happens to Arengo petitions after the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) approves them.
The agenda item called for the examination of around thirty petitions, some of them very old. Casali described it, «half-jokingly but not entirely», as a «clearing-out of the oldest petitions». «Once a petition is approved, it has to be implemented — otherwise it means taking citizens for a ride,» he said.
On Via Paolo III, the councillor then opened a political chapter. The 2019 case concerned three diseased pine trees, whose root systems had been deemed compromised by the relevant technical offices. «But back then the opposition needed to find a scapegoat, who turned out to be the Secretary of State responsible, Augusto Michelotti — despite being someone with a genuine personal history of environmental sensitivity. A political campaign was built that led people to chain themselves to trees and children to cry over the felling of plants.» And then, he continued, «when those same political forces, and some of the very protagonists of that battle, came to government and took over the Secretariat of State for Territory, nobody went to replant Via Paolo III».
Casali did not spare the associations either: «I’m also personally irritated by those associations that mobilised in 2019 to defend diseased pines, while in 2025 they submit petitions to cut down perfectly healthy trees in front of the Porta del Paese simply because they block the view of the landscape». Years later, he added, the original decision had proven correct: the pedestrian path is now usable, the danger has been resolved, and the thinning has allowed the remaining lime trees to grow better.
Aida Maria Adele Selva of the PDCS, who previously worked at the Agricultural Office, brought the discussion back to technical grounds: when the Office determines that a tree is no longer safe, it must be felled. «There’s a contradiction we see far too often in today’s society: everyone wants greenery, but then greenery becomes a nuisance,» she observed, suggesting that future replanting efforts favour native species, capable of providing shade and absorbing CO2 while being less problematic for paving and urban furnishings.
The Secretary of State for Territory and Environment, Matteo Ciacci, closed the discussion by confirming that replanting on the exact same spot «will be very complex to carry out» and «will probably not be materially possible in the way originally envisioned». What will be done, in agreement with the Castello’s Giunta, is to complete the pavement on Via Paolo III, in the stretch running from Via Felicissima to the Tourism Office building and continuing toward the Stradone.
The same fate befell another petition, from 2021, calling for a park in memory of Covid victims. «We’re talking about a wound the country still carries, and one that deserves respect,» Ciacci said, before simply outlining where things currently stand: two options are on the table — a park in the area of Casale La Fiorina, or a space beneath the Centro Uffici — with his personal preference going to the former, where a broader project is planned that includes the expansion of the elderly care facility and a new hospice.
Casali agreed with the Secretary’s reasoning but pushed further: «In theory, today we should have been told: the park has been built in that location, the trees have been planted, and the project has been completed. Instead, once again, we’re here discussing future possibilities». This led to his call for the Commission for Institutional Reforms to examine how the mechanism functions: «Arengo petitions must not be diminished or weakened — we shouldn’t clip the wings of one of the most important tools in our democratic tradition. Perhaps, though, they need to be made more specific and more targeted, and above all, once they’re approved, we can’t just have a brief chat about them years later in committee and consider the matter closed».
The discussion also touched on other agenda items. On end-of-life issues, the 2020 Arengo petition on advance treatment directives led to a popular legislative bill that is still awaiting its second reading in Council: six years on. «Politics, all too often, is playing catch-up,» Casali remarked. Guerrino Zanotti of Libera acknowledged «a certain inertia» and expressed hope for final approval soon, while Emanuele Santi of Rete asked that the text be brought before the next council session.
