The tree, which stood on the corner of Via Beccaria and Via Vico near Piazza del Popolo, was toppled during a storm two months ago and lay there until yesterday morning.

Writer and local resident Dacia Maraini said she made numerous telephone calls and emails to the city council and to its Department of Environmental Protection, but did not receive a response.

It was not until the Rome-focused daily newspaper Il Messaggero published her complaint on Monday that action was taken.

Maraini told Il Messaggero that the tree was surreptitiously removed during the night on Monday, and she woke to find the street cleared.

Maraini’s neighbours were thrilled at the result and congratulated her on her efforts.

READ ALSO: Rome residents paint potholes to alert cyclists and shame authorities after woman's death

“Everyone I ran into said thank goodness you did that, thank you, thank you,” she said.

But Maraini herself was less happy.

“Of course I am very pleased that they have cleared the pavement, but it is sad to think that you have to publicly denounce them in a newspaper in order to get something that should be part of the normal service in this city,” Maraini told the paper.

“Many passersby had begun throwing their trash in the tree – there were plastic bags, cigarettes, paper packing, old sandwiches,” she said.

“A pile of waste like that attracts mice, cockroaches, dirty animals.”

Maraini said she has not been contacted by the municipality.

READ ALSO:

• Rome among worst cities in Europe for road safety, traffic and pollution: Greenpeace
• Rome transport authority opens inquiry after yet another bus bursts into flames
• VIDEO: Watch the moment one of Rome's monster sinkholes opens