The Italian capital's umbrella pines are as much a part of the landscape as the ruins and cobbled streets, and residents are fiercely attached to them.

But three trees have fallen since the start of the year in the area between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum, which is often bustling with crowds of tourists.

There are more than 50 pines around the Imperial Forum, the site of Ancient Rome's government and religious temples.

Stability tests revealed 12 out of the first 36 pines examined were at risk, the council said in a statement earlier this week, adding that they be removed and replaced,

Those for the chop were "characterised by extremely advanced age, decades of human intervention, planting in restricted spaces and on land made unstable by extreme climatic events", the council said.

On Friday -- a rare day of sunshine following almost daily downpours -- tree surgeons could be seen cutting through branches, the sound of electric saws echoing along the Forum.

The main road through the Forum has been closed since the pine fell, lightly inuring three passers-by, on February 1.

Tourists and taxi drivers have been forced to make lengthy detours, but the Colosseum Archaeological Park remained open to visitors.

"It's sad to cut them down, they're so majestic," Portuguese tourist Margarida Dos Santos Fernandes, 53, told AFP on Friday.

"It's a shame, but apparently it's for everyone's benefit."

Rome experienced record rainfall in January, following a heatwave last summer.

Italy is a so-called "hotspot" for climate change in Europe, and in recent years has been experiencing increasingly extreme weather events.