Ascoli Piceno, September 16, 2026 – A square in the heart of the historic center of Ascoli transformed into a huge pigeon feeding trough. And the result, residents say, is in plain sight: guano everywhere, terraces and windowsills unusable, cars stained and even an ancient public fountain turned into a watering trough for hundreds of birds. This is happening in Piazza San Tommaso, where a situation of decay has been dragging on for some time and, according to those living in the area, has now become unsustainable.
Residents: “The problem is linked to a person who feeds them daily”
The problem, residents explain, is mainly linked to the presence of a person who daily feeds the pigeons. “They arrive punctually, two or three times a day, always at the same times, with huge sacks of grain,” they say. A behavior that, they report, happens despite the municipal ban and has contributed over the years to exponentially increase the number of animals. “A few years ago there were only a few dozen, now they have become hundreds,” the inhabitants state. A presence now difficult to contain and which, according to them, is not limited to the square. The guano, mixed with feathers, ends up “on the street, on cars, on terraces, on windowsills, on roofs, on benches and even on children’s playgrounds.”
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The situation is spreading to nearby streets
A situation that is also affecting the nearby streets and alleys, with consequences on daily life. “There are people who can no longer hang laundry outside their windows or use their terraces peacefully,” complain the residents. And the public fountain in the square is also targeted: “In the summer heat it could be used by elderly and children, but it has now become their watering trough and no one approaches willingly for fear of getting dirty.” A few meters away is the church of San Tommaso Apostolo, a historic monument of the city, also exposed to bird droppings. “We are not against the animals, which are innocent. The problem is those who feed them every day,” they clarify. According to the inhabitants, a possible solution could be to stop the continuous supply of food and rely on a specialized company to remove the birds from the historic center, identifying more suitable peripheral areas. Matteo Porfiri
