Among those attending the ceremony were Mayor Stefano Lo Russo, Chair of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo Marco Gilli, Secretary-General of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo Alberto Anfossi, Director-General of the Turin Local Health Authority Carlo Picco, and City Councillor for Green Spaces Francesco Tresso.
The project aims to enhance Turin’s tree-lined avenues, a defining feature of the city’s urban landscape and an exceptionally valuable green asset, comprising more than 60,000 trees along approximately 300 kilometres of avenues. A comprehensive, multi-layered initiative that brings together expertise in urban planning, environmental sustainability and public health, while incorporating an advanced technological monitoring system to scientifically assess the impact of urban greenery on health and environmental quality.
The selection of the avenues included in the programme is based on the proportion of tree losses, namely, the number of missing trees relative to the total tree stock, as well as other criteria linked to the strategic importance of each area. This process has led to the identification of 55 tree-lined avenues across the city, including its main thoroughfares. The project will see around 2,800 trees planted over a three-year period.
Approximately 1,000 trees have already been planted this year. In recent weeks, planting has taken place along Corso Francia, Corso Lecce, Corso Potenza, Corso Tazzoli and Piazza Sofia. During the autumn planting season, scheduled from late October to late November, a further 600 trees will be planted along Via Sospello, Corso Re Umberto, Viale Dogali, Corso San Maurizio, Corso Tazzoli, Via Biglieri, Corso Corsica, Corso Cosenza.
To enhance the biodiversity of Turin’s urban forest, a number of new tree species that are better adapted to current environmental conditions, and have already proven successful in recent planting programmes, will be introduced in many areas, particularly where existing species have struggled to cope with climate change in recent decades. These include the Turkish Hazel, Callery Pear, Golden Raintree, Sweetgum and Pagoda Tree. No changes to tree species will be made, however, in historic or protected avenues. The project also includes a range of minor improvements to planting sites, such as replacing soil and introducing specialist growing substrates, together with measures to protect trees from impact damage, in order to improve growing conditions and enable the trees to establish and develop to their full potential.
Stefano Lo Russo, Mayor of the City of Turin: “With 20 square metres of public green space per resident, Turin is one of the greenest cities in Italy. Investing in urban green spaces means enhancing this valuable asset, while also helping to mitigate the effects of heatwaves and reclaiming spaces for social interaction. The aim of this project is to restore one of the defining features of our city: its historic tree-lined avenues. Today, through this symbolic tree-planting ceremony, we want to reaffirm our commitment, made possible in part through a public-private partnership, to building an increasingly green and resilient Turin, recognising tree-lined avenues as environmental and social infrastructure that contributes to the health and well-being of all.”
The Foundation promotes and supports projects of strategic importance for the local area, with a particular focus on environmental conservation and protection, education and awareness-raising on climate change and urban green space management, as well as active community participation and the strengthening of the social and relational fabric of cities. It is within this context that the City’s proposal has been developed, involving the planting of around 2,800 new trees alongside research, pilot and training initiatives aimed at citizens, technical specialists and professionals working in the sector.
Marco Gilli, Chair of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo: “This is one of the development projects that the Foundation has chosen to directly and with a long-term vision. Restoring a living tree heritage to the city, in partnership with the Turin Local Health Authority (ASL Città di Torino) to assess its benefits for people’s health and quality of life, is a tangible expression of our commitment to the common good and to the generations who will inherit this city. This is the deeper purpose that underpins our philanthropic work.”
Alberto Anfossi, Secretary General of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo: “We have chosen to support the Tree-Lined Avenues project as one of the flagship initiatives within our Multi-Year Planning Document because it combines the enhancement of a heritage that is deeply valued by the people of Turin: our tree-lined avenues, with improvements to air quality and the urban environment, including in the context of climate change adaptation. Its added value lies in a cutting-edge preventive maintenance programme designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tree-planting initiative.”
The partnership with the Turin Local Health Authority (ASL Città di Torino) also serves to highlight the close relationship between the environment and public health, emphasising the role of trees in reducing air, noise and heat pollution, while contributing to the physical and mental well-being of the population. The initiative, which is expected to involve a total investment of approximately €2.5 million between 2026 and 2030, forms part of the collaborative programme developed with Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo to deliver the project.
Carlo Picco, Director-General, City of Turin Health Authority: “Historic tree-lined avenues play an important role in shaping public health. They have a direct influence on air quality, helping to mitigate heatwaves and absorb noise. These are all factors that contribute to the well-being of the population, including through preventative action.” Through this project, we are launching a partnership that brings together environmental and health data in order to objectively assess the impact of urban greenery on public health and support more effective prevention strategies. The City of Turin, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and the Turin Local Health Authority are working together to demonstrate how the environment can help to care for us. The project showcases the benefits of urban greenery: less smog, less noise and lower temperatures, contributing to a healthier city that benefits both body and mind.”
Francesco Tresso, City Councillor for Green Spaces, City of Turin: “Tree-lined avenues are one of the defining features of Turin’s urban landscape. They represent a historic and landscape heritage of exceptional value, while also serving as a vital resource in addressing the challenges of climate change by helping to moderate temperatures and improve air quality. Working closely with the parks and green spaces departments, we have undertaken extensive work to assess the condition of the city’s tree-lined avenues and identify priority interventions across all districts. The support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, which has chosen to invest in this project, has enabled us to implement a wide-ranging programme of action that focuses not only on the aesthetic value of the avenues but, above all, on their environmental role and their contribution to public health. In partnership with the City of Turin Health Authority, this work will be accompanied by monitoring activities and a public event to present the findings, providing an opportunity to demonstrate how a healthy and extensive urban tree heritage can have a positive impact on residents’ quality of life.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”sdg-list-wrap”][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTVCU2V6aW9uZV9Eb2N1bWVudGklNUQ=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]