Italian Culture Undersecretary Francesco Giro announced recently that the much anticipated restoration of the Colosseum should be complete sometime in 2013.
He stated that “The restoration will involve the entire amphitheater and will cost around 30 million euros”. A plan is underway to fund the restoration. The plan involves commercial sponsorship that will pay for restoring the Colosseum. Bidding for the project began in August and will continue until October 31.
Giro announced that “after that we will select the sponsors or a single sponsor and they will choose the firms involved”. He also announced that another, separate project is also underway to install new lighting in the Roman forum that lies adjacent to the Colosseum. Plans for the illumination of the Roman Forum are expected to be completed by the end of October or at least by the end of 2010. The selected lighting for the project is described as very cool and suggestive. Advertisements have also begun to get sponsors to help fund the restoration of the Colosseum. These advertisements have appeared in the Italy Official Gazette as well as two international newspapers. The ads were seen in the August 4 edition of the newspapers. It is still unclear exactly what form sponsorship will take for the funding of the restoration.
Many concerns have been raised however over allowing corporate sponsors to use the restoration project in order to promote their own products. The Culture Ministry and Rome Council however have assured the public that sponsorship for the project will remain discreet in order to protect the dignity of the 2000 year old Colosseum.
Gianni Alemanno, Mayor of Rome has also assured the public that firms that do sponsor the restoration will not be permitted to have giant tarpaulin sheets advertising their names. These sheets are typically used to make the scaffolding that is used during restoration work.
The pressure to get the restoration project underway has increased considerably since May when an inside wall fell off of the structure. The impact of the wall thankfully was cushioned in part by protective netting that had been placed in various sections of the Colosseum in the 1980s. Giro stated that “the Colosseum is chronically ill. It’s showing all the signs of its age, a natural, physiological disease”.
Restoration is expected to begin next year to restore the nearly 13,000 square meters of exterior walls. Cleaning up the area in and around the structure as well as removing the unsightly barriers between the lowest arches is planned to begin the restoration. The barriers will then be replaced by protective fences much like the ones that were set up to protect the Roman Forum many years ago. The illumination project will then be set up permanently.
The project will follow work that is already being done on the Colosseum-topping attic as well as the third tier and the underground tunnels where gladiators and beasts were introduced to the arena. New security systems are also planned for installation as are new fire systems and innovative new metal detectors which will be installed at a safe distance away from the monument. Rome Mayor Alemanno has called the project an “epoch-making” restoration and promises that it will make the monument safe for many years in the future.