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Rome is one of the greenest cities in Europe, with approximately 313,000 trees scattered throughout its parks and city center. However, many of these trees were planted centuries ago and are now dying. Witnessing this situation, sculptor Andrea Gandini conceived the idea of carving tree trunks into the shapes of human or animal faces.
Rome is one of the greenest cities in Europe.
"I started carving wood in my garage when I was a child. Then, I started choosing (dead) tree stumps from the streets to carve. That's how I started carving tree stumps in Rome."
Gandini shared that he enjoys observing people at work and there are no preconceived notions when sculpting human or animal faces onto tree trunks. "It takes me about a week to complete a sculpture, and then it becomes everyone's own creation."
Young sculptor Andrea Gandini stands beside one of his works.
His "job" quickly attracted the attention of tourists.
The tree stumps are "revived" and transformed into works of art.
This young sculptor has marked the locations of the carved tree stumps on his website, and surprisingly, his works are becoming a popular tourist attraction in the city. Many tour guides have even added the locations of these tree stumps to their tour itineraries.
"Dead tree stumps are often overlooked, but they possess characteristics perfectly suited for sculpture. In Rome, there are many stumps 'waiting' to become works of art."
Although Gandini's creative work is well-known to locals and tourists alike, the Rome city authorities seem largely unconcerned. Recently, while preparing to carve a tree stump near the Colosseum, Gandini was stopped by police who warned him he would be banned from historical sites – even though there is no law in Rome prohibiting people from carving dead tree stumps.
Gandini shared that he loves nature and feels heartbroken that trees always become a danger to people during storms. "If this situation doesn't change, in 10 years, there will be very few trees left in the city."
