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Rome's sickly Christmas tree causes uproar as needles continue to fall

A picture shows the controversial Christmas tree at Piazza Venezia in Rome, on December 19, 2017. The tree was a gift from northern Italy but unfortunetly the municipality admited the tree has dried before Christmas day.

Rome's sickly official Christmas tree is dropping needles and earning nicknames ranging from "toilet brush" to "baldy."

The 70-foot-high tree cost 48,000 euros, or $57,000, to transport from an Italian Alpine region to Rome, where it has been steadily losing needles since being lit on Dec. 8, according to the Associated Press. Locals, who are outraged at the cost of the sickly tree, have dubbed the behemoth "spelacchio," which roughly translates to mangy or balding.

A picture shows the controversial Christmas tree at Piazza Venezia in Rome, on December 19, 2017.The tree was a gift from northern Italy but unfortunetly the municipality admited the tree has dried before Christmas day.

On social media, the tree has it's own "spelacchio" account, and many have used #spelacchio to compare the tree to healthy Christmas trees in other cities and slam the city's unpopular mayor, Virginia Raggi.

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