10047 Tree law?

Szq
I think you will find there is a law, relating to the planting of trees. If I remember correctly, it is 3-5 metres from the property border. May be bushes 3 mtrs and trees 5 mtrs.

Apologies for the lateness in reply, but this needs clarifying somewhat. The law does specify the minimum distance that a tree, shrub or hedge can be planted to the property boundary very clearly and concisely.

If you have access to the Civil Code (Codice Civile) you need to look at Art. 892 in the Libro Terzo.
[quote=Il Codice Civile Italiano]
[B]Art. 892 Distanze per gli alberi[/B]

Chi vuol piantare alberi presso il confine deve osservare le distanze stabilite dai regolamenti e, in mancanza, dagli usi locali. Se gli uni e gli altri non dispongono, devono essere osservate le seguenti distanze dal confine:

l) tre metri per gli alberi di alto fusto. Rispetto alle distanze, si considerano alberi di alto fusto quelli il cui fusto, semplice o diviso in rami, sorge ad altezza notevole, come sono i noci, i castagni, le querce, i pini, i cipressi, gli olmi, i pioppi, i platani e simili;

2) un metro e mezzo per gli alberi di non alto fusto. Sono reputati tali quelli il cui fusto, sorto ad altezza non superiore a tre metri, si diffonde in rami;

3) mezzo metro per le viti, gli arbusti, le siepi vive, le piante da frutto di altezza non maggiore di due metri e mezzo.

La distanza deve essere però di un metro, qualora le siepi siano di ontano, di castagno o di altre piante simili che si recidono periodicamente vicino al ceppo, e di due metri per le siepi di robinie.

La distanza si misura dalla linea del confine alla base esterna del tronco dell'albero nel tempo della piantagione, o dalla linea stessa al luogo dove fu fatta la semina.

Le distanze anzidette non si devono osservare se sul confine esiste un muro divisorio, proprio o comune, purché le piante siano tenute ad altezza che non ecceda la sommità del muro. [/quote]
In a nutshell, hedges and fruit trees no taller than 2.5 metres can be planted no closer than 50cm to the boundary. Trees that will be no taller than 3 metres high, no closer than 1.5 metres and any other tree must be a minimum of 3 metres from the boundary.

Is there a law that prevents you from cutting down trees as opposed to planting?
We have a very large fig tree in our garden which overhangs the path leading to the garden. It's branches are touching the house and we would really like to cut it down and remove if possible. I have cut some of the branches off already. When we bought the house it was only small and we didn't realise how big they actually grow.
Lorraine

You will find your local commune the place to find out whether and what types of trees you can cut down. There are many local differences in how tree-felling is seen, much as in the UK you would need to find out the local bylaws before cutting anything down. Just pop in and ask - although, I would be surprised if a fig tree was on the list.

Fig trees take cutting hard pretty well, usually. Just prune the little sucker to the size you want it after the leaves have all fallen off and see what happens next.

Usually it's oak that seem to be really protected. I quite regularly heavily cut back the fig tree that we have, and it still comes back again!!

Well I hope there is no law against chopping down trees.
I had a gardener cut down two enormous magnolia trees, a gigantic fir, a monkey, a palm and something else I'm not sure what it was. :eeeek:
Nothing against trees just that they had grown really big and wild and......................... OK they were blocking the view. :bigergrin:

I am in rural Umbria where woe betide anyone who cuts down a tree...any tree (and gets found out). We had a dead walnut tree, huge and dangerous when we arrived here 1998 and were advised to take a photo then call the Comunita Montana and ask what they advised. They are the people one must ask here not the Comune.

With a bit of sense we have thinned out young trees and do cut back our fig tree but we are very careful about how we go about it. On the other hand the woods behind us were cut ruthlessly by Eastern European lumberjacks with no protective clothing...but they of course had a licence to destroy, the unpleasant Italian man who had bought the contract showed us his sheaf of permissions and they left all the DEAD TREES standing but that's another story!

[quote=Lorraine;99019]Is there a law that prevents you from cutting down trees as opposed to planting?
We have a very large fig tree in our garden which overhangs the path leading to the garden. It's branches are touching the house and we would really like to cut it down and remove if possible...[/quote]
Those who suggest you contact the comune or Corpo Forestale or Comunita Montana or some other local representative of the The Powers That Be are doubtless correct. But my approach to these things is that you should always avoid as much as possible asking somebody permission to do something. If you do, you'll often get a "No!" in response just because you've essentially given them the power to obstruct you. Of course, this being Italy, you'll probably get handed a sheaf of forms to fill out before you get told you can't do whatever it is you wanted to do. Alternatively, you'll be quoted some article of law that's been superseded, repealed or altered drastically at least five times since the bureaucrat learnt which law to cite when he wanted to exercise his power to obstruct.

Like Nardini, I would be very surprised if there was any law regulating the removal of fig trees. They're almost as big a weed-tree as False Acacia in Italy. Personally, I think they're a nuisance and I must have chopped down at least a dozen of the things around our place. A huge one next to our house had to be chopped down last year because it was causing major subsidence problems, they're not (in my opinion) particularly attractive trees and they also attract insects. Even if one is passionate about figs, one can only eat so many and a tree of any size is incredibly productive.

And, as Nardini also says, they are very difficult to destroy: cut one down to the ground and you'll soon see shoots sprouting. Even if you cut these off as soon as you notice them, they'll keep coming back for months after.

If your fig tree is causing you problems because of it's current size, my advice is to chop it down. If it's in a location where others can see it, then it might be prudent to discuss the issue with the neighbours before you start sawing. If you want to get their sympathy, tell them that it's attracting vespe, formiche and calabroni. If you tell them that you've seen a snake in the branches, they'll probably come running with a chainsaw.

In any case, even if there is some local law against cutting down fig trees, by the time the wheels of Italian justice have moved into action, it's likely the tree will again be as big as it is now.

Al

I wonder if it is particular to the English that they see a tree and want to chop it down, or they see a wild but beautiful garden and immediatly want to "landscape" it?.We have just returned from the Uk and on visiting old neighbours were amazed to see that the new owners of our house had cut down the beautiful tall trees in the front of the property and instead put in some "nice" fake fronted brick raised beds, we bought the property because of the mature trees in the area, which gave it a rural feel, but these are now all gradually going as the houses are sold on, now they are having problems with flooding as the trees have gone and all their new paved car parking spaces have taken over, nowhere for the surface water to drain to.They seem to be creating their own environmental problems when they work against nature.
Back to Italy, we have very tall trees fronting the terrace, which dont inhibit the view but also provide a wind break, and a place for the surface water to drain to, and with pruning are not out of control, perhaps its the out of control aspect we find difficult?
Bit of a rant for me but hate to see trees chopped down, we should be working with the local environment not against it.
A

Perhaps it is, Angie, perhaps you are right there. It certainly seems a trifle strange that a thread about PLANTING should turn itself into one about CUTTING DOWN trees, doesn't it.

I have to admit that we also have a very dominant fig tree that is only a metre away from the house that needs "attending" to this autumn. Having said that, we are planting an additional 15 trees in the garden to make up for it, though.

Perhaps that is the point. If you have a tree in a dangerous position - or condition - one should consider planting more trees to replace - in a safe and lawful position. A position that takes into account the future growth potential of the trees you are planting. Remember, a tree is for life, not just for Christmas.

Don't talk to us about cachi (persimmon in English) trees though! I'm seriously considering dynamite to get rid of one in completely the wrong place (over our heads!)... *

*[SIZE="1"] I joke. Really...[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Nardini;99087]Perhaps it is, Angie, perhaps you are right there. It certainly seems a trifle strange that a thread about PLANTING should turn itself into one about CUTTING DOWN trees, doesn't it.

:reallyembarrassed:Sorry for hijacking this thread on [B]planting trees [/B] but it just reminded me to ask about our fig tree that is taking over the garden. We are not resident in Italy yet but each time we go its just got bigger and bigger and I don't want to fall foul of any rules and regulations. Thanks anyway for all the advise given.....now back to [B]planting trees[/B]:yes:
Lorraine

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]When I asked locally about tree planting / removal I was told that the rule of thumb was to be sensible about it. We live in a densely wooded area. It is managed woodland and provides many residents with at least part of their livelihood. Therefore it is expected that nobody would do anything to 'damage' that livelihood. Cutting down trees happens all the time - especailly in the early spring. but even when acres of trees are felled, some are left - to prevent soil erosion and give shade to the smaller trees. The large feeled trees are coppiced to encourage new growth. Just do what is sensible.[/FONT]

In Puglia the olive trees seems to be sacred. The daughter of a friend is an lawyer and she tell us that the fine for chopping down a olive tree without a permit to do so, can reach up to € 500.000.-

[quote=Angie and Robert;99082]I wonder if it is particular to the English that they see a tree and want to chop it down, or they see a wild but beautiful garden and immediatly want to "landscape" it?[/quote]
I'm not clear if this was in response to my comments.

If so, I'd quote an old gardening saying to the effect that one can be blessed with trees or cursed with them. Personally, I don't see anything sacrosanct about a particular form of vegetation just because it happens to hang around longer than a season or two. I had no hesitation at all about chopping down the enormous fig tree next to the house when I concluded during the drought last year that it's vast expanse of glossy green leaves was the cause of the 2cm wide cracks that had gradually opened up in part of our house. When I lopped off half the branches, the widening of the cracks slowed. When all that remained of the tree was a ground-level stump, the expansion of the cracks stopped altogether. I'm not going to feel guilty about killing the tree, since it was, in a very real sense, a choice between the house or the tree.

As for the other trees I've massacred around here, they were mainly also figs with a few pathetic specimens of fruit trees which I suspect the previous owner grew from seeds. There were perhaps 15 trees in total that went last winter. In their place, we planted 55 new trees. There are about that number of additional trees already on order for delivery next January.

While I have no qualms about cutting down useless trees that are supposed to be producing fruit but don't or problem trees that affect the structural stability of the building, I have very different feelings about the enormous oaks which are next to the house. Although they do completely block what would be a spectacular view of the Gran Sasso, they've already been here for hundreds of years and I hope they'll still be here hundreds of years after I've gone. I've never considered for a moment cutting them down or even pruning them.

Likewise, I'm not at all interested in getting anything done in the way of forestry management in the wooded areas we own. It would, in fact, probably be better for the health of the wood as a whole if there was some thinning, but I'm quite content to just let our little forest get on with doing whatever it wants to do. Some might see the wood as being "out of control", but I'm perfectly happy to be responsible for a little bit of that sort of natural chaos.

Al

No Al not in response to your post at all, just a general feeling which I have held for a long time, and your post was ages ago I think, just revived my feelings after going back to my old and once pretty tree lined street in the UK, sadly no longer tree lined, and now boring with its manicured gardens and off road parking, and its feeling of tidyness, and order.
A

If you have any fig trees near your house cut them down asap!!! We dug out our basement and found huge roots had run all the way under the house!!These have been removed and the tree cut down but we'll need to kill off the stump!!

We too suffer from various lumberjacks sawing down trees in the village even on steep slopes!!A very stupid practice and dangerous.But all fully legit apparently!