Colosseum won't be restored in a day

A Colosseum's view

Italian cultural officials announced that the  Colosseum, the most important monument in the world, will be entirely restored starting from December 2012 till 2017. Restoration will cost around 25 million Euro and will be sponsored by the fashion brand Tod's, thanks to a contract signed among: such shoes company, the city of Rome and other public authorities as the Ministry of the Italian Culture. 

The conservative works of Colosseum will eventually start after an Italian consumers' association currently lost their legal suit, where they challenged the sponsorship agreement with Tod's, saying that other potential benefactors were illegally excluded from the  public bid. 

The restoration will start 73 years after the last works on the monument took place and will be divided into  three stages. The first stage of restoration involves cleaning and restoring the monument façades and the substitution of the metal enclosures that seal off the ground-level arches: this first period is expected to end by mid 2015.

The second stage deals with the creation of a service center and should finish at the end of 2015, whereas the last stage will involve the restoration of: various galleries, underground spaces inside the monument, besides all the Colosseum surroundings and will finish in 2017.

Diego della Valle, Tod's chairman, said he hopes his sponsorship can incentive other businessmen, both Italian and foreigner, to do the same helping to preserve Italian artistic patrimony. However, the sponsorship of the restoration will grant Tod's the exclusive right to use the Colosseum logo for 15 years on its products, print Tod's trademark on entry tickets, besides managing a reception center.

Finally, visitors to Colosseum will be glad to hear that the most important symbol of the Imperial Rome will remain open throughout the conservation works. The total space that can be visited will be increased by 25% once the restoration is complete