“Once I knew these streets by the trees: one the glory of a pine, another the sumptuous magnolia,” wrote the poet Giudici in ‘Returning to Rome,’ at a time when Muratella had not yet been built. Now, it is the plants, and magnolias in particular, that speak of this quadrant of Rome. Municipio XI has won the regional ‘Oxygen’ tender for the third consecutive year, populating the area of via Arturo Crocco with 60 new trees and 482 shrubs. It is precisely there, in a small area in front of Crocco Park, previously redeveloped by the Retake association, that the ‘Garden of Constituent Mothers’ has been established – a mini-forest of 21 magnolias dedicated to the women who, 80 years ago, worked on drafting the Italian Constitution.
21 Magnolias for the Constituent Mothers
Beyond the environmental function, there is memory and a sense of belonging, indispensable in a ‘relatively new district, which cannot yet count on its own identity,’ to use the words of the Municipal Councillor for the Environment, Daniela Gentili. In addition to the Garden of Constituent Mothers, where each tree will be associated with a QR code detailing the story of the figure to whom the plant is dedicated, the Muratella Neighborhood Committee has mapped the municipal green heritage to promote new dedications. Women who have distinguished themselves not only in politics, but also in science, sport, and literature, will appear on small plaques affixed to the tree trunks. ‘We thought of women to compensate for their almost total absence in toponymy,’ continued Councillor Gentili. ‘The objective is twofold: to give the neighborhood a place imbued with memory and to enhance the female figures who have made the history of our country.’ The Municipality is also considering equipping the magnolia garden with an outdoor classroom, with semicircular seats available for school groups on field trips.
The ‘Oxygen’ Tender
‘Restoring identity and value to a neighborhood that for years has lived in a condition of marginalization’ is the objective identified by municipal councillor Benedetta Martini (Pd), who continues: ‘Thanks to a significant urban green redevelopment intervention, Muratella will have a renewed space, capable of becoming a meeting place and reference point for the community.’ The 60 new trees that arrived on via Crocco and the shrubs planted in Pezzi Park represent the most significant green contribution, but not the only one. The Municipality is also awaiting the delivery of 42 camphor trees from the Environment Protection Department, which will be planted in Crocco Park in the coming months. Perhaps even before summer, otherwise in September, as Councillor Gentili said, when the heat will have decreased. But certainly by the end of the year, the new tree-lined areas will take on their definitive appearance.
A Neighborhood Committee on the Front Line
Satisfaction for the Muratella Neighborhood Committee, which since 2022 has been fighting for the protection and improvement of the territory. ‘We welcomed the municipal project with great favor,’ said President Monica Laugeni, who emphasizes how ‘having an active interlocutor in the Municipality is no small feat.’ The local administration has also responded to the Committee’s reports in past years, when in 2023 the Municipality took over Crocco Park, equipping it with picnic and ping-pong tables, a dog area, children’s games, and a fitness zone. In Muratella, a neighborhood that arose ‘twenty years ago without asphalted roads and without connections,’ as Laugeni recounted, it was the Neighborhood Committee that collected the needs of citizens. Now it is fighting to request a sports field, a gathering place for young people, the definitive elimination of the illegal landfill on via Marchetti, and the completion of the school on via Pensuti, for which municipal funds have been allocated for 2027. The commitment of citizens continues.
Source: https://urloweb.com/municipi/municipio-xi/bando-ossigeno-piantati-nuovi-alberi-nel-municipio-xi/
