Holidays in Rome

Culture Undersecretary Francesco Giro has assured visitors that there should be no worries about the state of the Colosseum. This came after three chunks of mortar fell off of an interior wall before the building opened on Sunday, May 9. Three thin slabs of the original mortar in the building, measuring a total of 0.5 meters together, came off of the ground floor of the building and landed directly in an area where a show was in progress. The disaster happened around 6 a.m. on Sunday. The Colosseum itself, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is one of the most revered archeological venues in the world and currently sees more than four million visitors each year. The monument’s original construction began between 70 and 72 AD under the Emperor Vespasian and was completed by his son Titus in 80 AD.

A new scheme to completely restore the symbol of Rome is being considered as “top priority” according to Giro. A deal with private investors is expected to be finalized shortly. Giro went on to state that “There should be no excessive alarm or exaggeration of what happened”. This statement was in direct answer to the Italian Confederation of Archaeologist’s concern that a tragedy very well could have occurred had the Colosseum opened on time as was previously scheduled. The impact of the falling mortar was cushioned somewhat by protective netting that had been placed around several sections of the Colosseum back in the 1980s. Giro stressed that incidents such as this are nothing new in the monument’s history and that the “Colosseum is chronically ill”.

He stated that the building structure is beginning to show signs of aging. But went on to state that “we intend to restore it to health, with care and attention, deploying the expertise that has already been used on other prestigious projects, which is the envy of the world”. He went on to add that a consortium led by Diego Della Valle, shoe mogul along with a Roman construction group and several unidentified Japanese businessmen is currently at an advanced stage of talks along with Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno. This consortium will work in different stages on the project which was originally announced back in March. The project is expected to cost upwards of 50 to 60 Euros and a possible international aid to fund the project is not completely out of the question. The project will restore the Colosseum as well as protect and permanently illuminate it.

It has been estimated that the restoration project will take one year to complete. The restoration includes the nearly 13,000 square meters of exterior walls as well as clean up and replacing the barriers between the lowest arches with protective fences. The project is expected to make it safer to open up the Colosseum top attic, the third tier and the underground tunnel network where gladiators were once taken to the arena. Security systems and fire systems will be replaced with new products and newly designed metal detectors will also be positioned near the monument for extra security.