ietro Cucchi's Christmas tree was created for two reasons: the first - the more human one - was raise to a smile and bring a little more Christmas spirit to the entire community.
The second - the commercial one - was to build a spectacular technical work, each year more beautiful, more advanced, more amazing.
 
hat does it mean, in figures, to build a tree such as the one planned for 2000-2001?
It means raising a pole 75 metres high, weighing 126 kg, and decorating it to create an illuminated, evocative Christmas tree.
he engineers calculate the wind-bracing systems and design the stays that keep the tree firmly embedded in the ground.The tree is secured to the ground by a block of cement measuring 4x4 metres and 4 metres deep. Arranged around this central cube are another four 3m cubes, to which are attached the steel stays and cables that support the tree.
     

he 210 illuminated catenaries of which it is made up give the tree a realistic fir tree shape. The weight of the catenaries is 68 kg.
The illumination is exceptional: 237,000 lamps divided into three sections, handled by a single control unit and special software that enables entirely different figures to be programmed for about an hour.

ow much work, what machinery, does the Joyful Tree require each year?
Above all, to raise the pole, a 80 m high crane complete with lift.
6 people are required to assemble the structure, working for 20 days: to disassemble the tree takes 7 days.
The maintenance that follows the tree's disassembly lasts 1 month, and involves 3 people.
Implementing the hardware takes 15 to 20 days' work, and the software at least 40 days.
In all, the complete task of designing, assembling and disassembling the structure takes about 5/6 months.

Other figures: the tree is lit-up on 25th November and switched off on 16th January; it is connected to an 80 kW electricity sub-station from which extend 640 cables in three groups - a total of 110 km of cables. The sub-station has 780 outlets.