ROME (AP) — Rome's pathetic Christmas Tree, so droopy and dried out it was nicknamed the "Mangy One," is set to be carved up and made into souvenirs and a lactation hut for mothers and babies.

Rome's city cabinet decided on the tree's "new life" Tuesday, hoping to close an embarrassing chapter that saw the tree come to symbolize the city's degradation and dysfunction under its 5-Star mayor, Virginia Raggi, and years of neglect and corruption before her.

Raggi insisted Tuesday that the tree ended up capturing the hearts of Romans and visitors alike, and that its future life would show Rome as a model of recycling.

But not even its removal went as planned. Workers removed the tree's ornaments Tuesday, then put them back ahead of a ceremony on Thursday.