The tree cost the Eternal City almost 50,000 euros ($60,140; £44,330) to bring from near the Austrian border. Cynics said its decrepitude mirrored Rome's own state of disrepair in recent years.

Their gondola plummeted approximately 10-12m (33-39ft) after a tree fell on a support cable ... Michaela Burger from the cable car company told Austrian public broadcaster ORF.