The biggest tree in Rome stands in the middle of the Piazza of St. Peter’s next to the Egyptian obelisk placed there in 1586. This year’s tree is a massive spruce from Austria. (Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
The tree in front of Trajan’s Column in the Imperial Forums. (Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
Near the Spanish Steps in the Piazza Mignanelli is a pillar topped by a statue of the Virgin Mary. Every year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) it is decorated with a wreath and flowers. The pope pays tribute to the Virgin statue there, and people flock into the city to pay their respects in much the same way New Yorkers go to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. (Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
The stylish Spanish Steps Christmas tree, which you can see all the way down Via Condotti. (Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
The Pincio tree overlooking the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. (Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
