Check out Rome’s bike-powered display
Italy has employed some novel, environmentally friendly methods of lighting up its capital city this Christmas. With energy bills soaring and a greater emphasis on sustainability, Rome has opted for green ways to power its Christmas lights.
The sparkling tree outside the capital’s city hall buildings in Piazza del Campidoglio will be lit up using pedal power this year. The hundreds of lights decorating the branches are linked to six bicycles parked beneath and a generator.
Rome’s council has invited residents and tourists to “pedal with us to light up Christmas.”
The project was launched on December 13 in a ceremony during which the city’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri and councilors tried out the bikes. As they pedaled, the tree lights turned on to the accompaniment of festive music played by the local police band.
The council has hailed the initiative as “a symbolic message to promote sustainability, energy saving, and physical well-being.” And it’s not the only eco-friendly tree in Rome this year.
The spectacular 23-meter-high Christmas tree standing in Piazza Venezia is entirely powered by solar energy. The decorative lights strung down the Via del Corso are also powered by the solar panels at the base of the tree.
Svetlana Celli is the president of Rome’s City Council. She said the bike-powered tree was a “signal of peace and hope”. It’s not just Rome where people are hopping on their bikes for Christmas decorations. In Borno, a town in the north of Italy, cyclists are powering the town’s Christmas tree too.
The faster people pedal, the brighter the lights will shine. The town also decided not to put any other Christmas lights up, to make sure all the lights are powered in an eco-friendly way. Other trees around the city will also be lit with solar energy. The panels will be reused in other projects after the holiday season.
The council is promoting the use of solar power as a message of solidarity with the residents of the city struggling to pay energy bills. “This is intended to strongly promote a culture of sustainability, also taking into account the delicate moment linked to the war in Ukraine,” mayor Gualtieri said.
“The tree will consume 5.5 kilowatt hours which, instead of coming from the grid, will be self-produced by the photovoltaic system.” The eco-friendly lighting would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 70 kilos a day.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/DMtNyvyPAU4
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccahughes/2022/12/17/italy-lights-up-with-solar-and-pedal-powered-christmas-decorations/?sh=258b073b45bc
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/63986016
- https://readloud.net
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