When in Rome: Sculptor carves dead tree stumps into works of art

Gandini carves a sculpture of a wolf's face from a dead tree stump in the Villa Pamphili park in Rome. Photo: Reuters

Andrea Gandini, a 22-year-old Italian sculptor, is growing a name for himself by turning Rome's dead tree stumps into much-admired works of art. Gandini, who began tree carving five years ago, chipped away at his 66th stump in the huge Villa Pamphili park recently.

He has plenty of material to work with. Rome, one of the greenest cities in Europe, has roughly 313,000 trees filling its parks and lining the streets of the city. However, many were planted a century ago and are now weak or dying. Seeing how they were neglected made him want to act.