Rome Launches Diffuse Museum of Trees with App and Festival

Rome has inaugurated the Museo Diffuso degli Alberi (EMoT), a diffuse museum mapping the city's historically and culturally significant trees. The project, curated by nonprofit Blue Cheese Project APS in collaboration with Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and with the patronage of the Municipality of Rome, is funded by the European Union's Next Generation EU program. It currently networks twelve trees in central Rome's Campitelli, Parione, and Trastevere districts, with plans for continuous expansion. A free multilingual app (iOS and Android) provides geolocated podcasts, botanical and historical insights, and anecdotes on culture, mythology, and astronomy. The museum aims to be transnational, starting from Rome. Curators Lara De Angelis and Pierpaolo Fabrizio describe it as a process of 'alberizzare' (tree-ifying) the museum rather than musealizing trees. The project involves botanists, art historians, astrophysicists, artists, journalists, philosophers, and anthropologists. An EMoT Festival runs until April 28, 2024, featuring light installations by FLxER, guided tours, and performances by Silvia Girardi. The launch took place on April 19 at the Orto Botanico di Roma.