A gardening initiative is taking root on Catholic Church-owned land with the tacit blessing of Pope Francis.
The urban garden, situated in the Tor Tre Teste area on the edge of Rome, is the brainchild of Omero Lauri, a longtime activist in the capital's squatting scene.
For the past four years, Lauri and his friends have been working on the 37 acres of abandoned land, turning it into fertile plots that Lauri has opened up — for a €30 a year fee — to some 75 needy families to farm.
However, the land does not belong to Lauri, but to the Chapter of St Mary Major, the college of priests who serve the Vatican basilica of the same name and manage its assets.
