Key Points
- In 1981, a group of residents of Gubbio, in central Italy, decided to decorate the hill that overlooks the city and transform it into a giant Christmas tree.
- The Guinness Book of World Records certified this initiative as the largest Christmas tree in the world in 1991.
- Because of the second wave of COVID-19 in Italy, the lighting up of the tree this year will be without the crowds, and people will have to watch an online live-stream.
With over 1.6 million confirmed cases and almost 60.000 deaths, Italy has been one of the worst-hit countries by the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday when the country recorded its highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, in the small town of Gubbio, in the central Italian region of Umbria, preparations were in full swing to illuminate the world's largest Christmas tree - something that has been done since 1981.
The tree covers an area of approximately 130,000 square metres, extending for over 750 metres on the slopes of Mount Ingino, with a base of 450 metres, all the way up to the Basilica of the patron saint of Gubbio, St. Ubaldo, at the top of the hill.
Giacomo Fumanti is the president of the committee that decorates the tree every year. He says the numbers associated with the tree are remarkable.
"The tree measures 750 metres in height and 450 metres in width, and to realise it we use 7,500 metres of cables, and we work for approximately 1300 hours," he told SBS Italian.
The tree is made of lighting fixtures of various types and colours, with over 300 bright green lights outlining its shape and the central body being scattered with 400 multi-coloured lights. At the top is installed a comet designed with 142 meters of white and blue LED strips.
Since 1981, for Christmas, the medieval village of Gubbio lights up for the holiday season becoming the stage for the biggest Christmas tree in the world. Source: Courtesy of: Comitato Albero di Natale più Grande del Mondo
About 7,500 metres of electrical cables of various types are used to connect the lights. It entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1991.
How it started
It was during the Christmas time in 1981 when a group of residents of Gubbio came up with the idea to decorate the steep hill with a Christmas tree light display that would light up the entire medieval city below. This was first done to encourage more people to ascend to the Saint Ubaldo Basilica, at the top of Mount Ingino.
Since then it has become a fundamental tradition of Christmas time in Gubbio, which has put the town on the world map.
Creating this record-breaking tree each year could be possible thanks to the financial assistance of the local municipality and business owners of Gubbio who assist with the $7,350 electricity bill, on top of the cost of the materials required for the tree.
An aerial view of the Christmas tree, which shows the magnitude of this enterprise Source: Courtesy of: Comitato Albero di Natale più Grande del Mondo
'A sign of peace and brotherhood'
The real heroes though are the volunteers who every Sunday, starting from September, climb Mount Ingino to strategically position all the light fixtures that create such a stunning visual display.
Marco Cardoni, a member of the committee, says COVID-19 has made the preparation of the tree more challenging.
"We worked in smaller groups and had to wear a mask at all times, which made climbing trees an arduous enterprise."
The people of Gubbio see the tree as a sign of "universal peace and brotherhood" among all people. Mr Cardoni hopes the efforts of the volunteers will bring joy to the people in Gubbio and beyond.
"Despite all the difficulties, we hope that our work, which exudes passion and dedication for our small town, will bring some joy, hope and trust, not only to our city but to the entire world."
During the last four decades, it has become a tradition for the lighting ceremony to take place on 7 December, and this year, the event is taking place on the same day despite the pandemic, albeit in a significantly different way.
The group of the "Alberaioli", which in local dialect means "people of the tree", the volunteers who make this initiative possible Source: Courtesy of: Comitato Albero di Natale più Grande del Mondo
"In the past, we have had prominent personalities such as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis lighting up the tree for a crowd of over 7,000 people," Mr Fumanti says. "This year there will only be the Mayor, the Bishop and myself."
The lighting up event will be live-streamed online.
He says this Christmas will be very different in Gubbio, as in the rest of Italy.
"It's going to be extremely hard to be separated from our family and loved ones but, on the other hand, we know that we need to behave responsibly so that we can put an end to this horrible situation," says Mr Fumanti.
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