\n The city of Rome says it will replace the trees and upgrade the irrigation system. Some of the dead foliage has been cut down in preparation for the new trees\u2019 arrival.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe are constantly learning how to deal with the changing weather,\u201d Edoardo Zanchini, director of the city of Rome\u2019s Climate Office, told CNN, admitting that the revamped piazza should have been planted with different trees. \u201cWe have to constantly think about who is in the city at the hottest time of the year \u2014 the elderly and young, the tourists and residents.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
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\n On Wednesday, the day after CNN published its video story<\/a> about the square, Rome\u2019s Councillor for Agriculture, Environment and Waste Management, Sabrina Alfonsi, posted a video<\/a> of herself in the piazza, wielding a yellow garden hose and watering recently planted flowers.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIn the last few weeks there has been a lot of talk about the plants that were put here, and it\u2019s true, some of them have struggled during an exceptionally intense heatwave,\u201d she said. \u201cToday, as you can see, they\u2019re being looked after and are healthy.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n She referred to criticism of the condition of the square from right-wing opposition politicians, and said it was ironic given many of them have denied climate change for years.\n <\/p>\n \n Combating climate change-driven extreme heat has become a top priority facing European cities this summer as parts of the continent have been roiled by a succession of heat waves. Providing adequate shade, building cooling centers, removing asphalt and adding more trees are among the solutions advocated for by climate activists and urban planners. But, as Rome\u2019s piazza shows, it is hugely challenging to build for brutal heat, which arrives earlier, lingers longer and is more intense<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n In southern Europe, where summers are always hot, heat plans have become necessary \u2014 and expensive. Rome has committed to spending around 50 million euros ($58 million) over the next five years to create spaces where everyone from homeless people to tourists to kids in day care can find relief.\n <\/p>\n \n Only 56% of Italian homes have some form of cooling system, so the city is trying to give people access to air-conditioned venues. Last week, Rome introduced an initiative opening movie theaters for free<\/a> during the hottest time of the day to give people a chance to cool off.\n <\/p>\n \n Over the past few years, Rome has installed hundreds of \u201cwater houses<\/a>\u201d \u2014 green kiosks with waterspouts and phone charging stations \u2014 to provide free cold water, both still and sparkling, to make sure people stay hydrated. They are a modern take on the roughly 2,500 cast iron \u201cnasoni\u201d water fountains put in place in the 1800s to provide free water across the city.\n <\/p>\n \n Joanne Waverly, a tourist from New York City, told CNN she didn\u2019t realize Rome would be so hot at night. \u201cI envisioned the afternoon siesta sleeping in my air-conditioned hotel room and going out at night, but it almost feels hotter than during the day,\u201d she told CNN as she filled her bottle at a water house next to Piazza Navona. \u201cThe cement and cobblestones radiate heat, and the temperatures don\u2019t even go down. I have no idea how people live here!\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Waverly has taken to early-morning sightseeing; others are seeing the city late into the evening. Venues including the Pantheon and Colosseum are offering new nighttime opening hours, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., to allow people to visit when the sun isn\u2019t blazing.\n <\/p>\n \n Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri says trees and green space are key to his government\u2019s heat plan. \u201cThe intensity of heatwaves is no longer an exception but the rule,\u201d he said<\/a> when announcing the city\u2019s heat plan earlier this month. The plan will see thousands of trees planted, with a focus on the hottest districts, where many people don\u2019t have, or can\u2019t afford, air conditioning.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cRome cannot stand still in the face of impacts that risk overwhelming key infrastructure, undermining urban livability and hitting the most vulnerable residents the hardest,\u201d Gualtieri said.\n <\/p>\n \n Rome, like many other cities, has de-paved asphalt streets, replacing surfaces with solar reflective coverings and porous materials, and has introduced more \u201cclimate shelters,\u201d like the free movie initiative and other up air-conditioned venues where people can gather.\n <\/p>\n \n But there have been false starts beyond just Piazza Risorgimento. Plans to trial a giant bioclimatic \u201ctree\u201d<\/a> at the city\u2019s main train station \u2014 a huge steel structure intended to bring down temperatures by evaporating water and releasing cooler air \u2014 have fizzled out after coming under scrutiny for cost and aesthetic reasons.\n <\/p>\n \n Still, the city says it\u2019s committed to figuring out how to adapt to unprecedented heat.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge that we have no choice but to combat,\u201d Zanchini, the city\u2019s climate chief, says. \u201cThe city is changing, but we learn from the ancient Romans who knew how to combat the heat with shade and water and use common sense.\u201d\n <\/p>\n ![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/shutterstock-editorial-16977544g.jpg\")
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