Colosseum’s former glory to be restored

Long-delayed repairs to the 2,000-year-old Colosseum in Italy will begin in December in a project funded by billionaire Diego Della Valle to save the crumbling monument, officials said last week.

We have to turn it into the central point of the city

The culture ministry said the first contract for the restoration project – an €8.3 million tender to clean up the façade of the Roman amphi-theatre blackened by passing traffic – has been awarded.

The restoration will last two and a half years and the ancient monument, which is one of the most visited sites in the world, will be covered in scaffolding but will be accessible to the public throughout.

Della Valle, owner of the Tod’s shoe empire, and Culture Minister Lorenzo Ornaghi hailed the project at a press conference in Rome.

“Tod’s is proud to support this project and to help preserve one of the symbols of Italy in the world,” Della Valle said.

Apart from cleaning, restorers will also repair cracks in the building and remove temporary metal arches installed on the ground level. The project, which also includes construction of a new visitor centre and repairs on all the internal and subterranean areas of the monument, will increase by a quarter the areas accessible to tourists.

The number of visitors to the Colosseum, which measures 188 metres by 156 metres and is 48.5 metres high, has increased from a million to around six million a year over the past decade thanks mainly to the blockbuster film Gladiator.

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno said the project due to wrap up in mid-2015 would restore the Colosseum to its former glory.

“We have to turn the Colosseum into the central point of our city and our country,” he said.