By Benedetta P. and Michele S.
Goats and sheep being used as lawn mowers in the gardens and historic villas of the Italian capital? No joke! The project is real and it carries the authority of the Campidoglio instructed by Grillo. It was presented to his followers on Facebook, by the Environmental Assessor. Pinuccia Montanari. Answering a user’s question on a live video, she revealed that the idea is not displeasing: “The sheep are used to mowing grass. The mayor, Virginia Raggi, has recently toyed with the idea of sheep and other animals cutting the grass in Rome. The government would also like to extend this activity to the many parks of the eternal city. It’s an easy way that other big cities like Berlin could adopt. We consider it interesting and innovative.” The city of seven hills wouldn’t be the first Italian city to use this method: in fact, it has been used in Ferrara and Turin as well.
The answer of the Roman PD counselor, Orlando Corsetti: “ Goats and sheep as lawn mower? We didn’t have this one on the list, but we can comprehend Raggi’s solution. She really loves animals particularly. She filled the city with rats, seagulls and wild boars, some goats… so why not complete the Roman zoo?”
However, the association Coldiretti, supports the project: “With fifty thousand sheep kept in Rome’s county, the capital can count on a real army of natural lawn mowers. An opportunity which was adopted in many other places, it would substitute electrical grass cutters, defeat acoustic pollution and emission, and create natural fertilisers for green areas”.
This is a very surprising way to solve one of Rome’s biggest issues. It could indeed reduce this problem; we just need to wait and see.