The question of repairing the Coliseum was raised repeatedly over the course of several decades, however, the Roman authorities could not provide sufficient funds for a full restoration. In July 2012, the plan for the restoration of this architectural monument was finalized and approved, and it was decided that the money for it would be provided by a businessman, and not by the state.
About 25 million euros will have to be spent on the restoration of the Coliseum, and the owner of Tod's shoe store chain Diego Della Valle agreed to provide this money. In July 2012, a conference was held, the participants of which reviewed and approved the plan of repair work and made a number of important decisions regarding the deadline for their implementation, the possibility of leaving some areas open for tourists, etc.
The restoration of the ancient architectural monument will begin in December 2012 and will last until June or July 2015. The last time the Colosseum was fully restored only in 1938-39, and minor repairs carried out after that only helped to slow down the process of destruction of the amphitheater. At the time of the new large-scale repair, about 3, 000 cracks and several pieces fell off were found in the Coliseum.
The restoration of the ancient amphitheater will be phased. The work was decided to be carried out in six areas, while the workers will restore several different parts of the Coliseum at the same time in order to speed up the process. First of all, the northern and southern facades of the building will be restored, all cracks will be eliminated, some sections will be strengthened or redone. At the same time, the Colosseum will remain open to tourists throughout the entire restoration process.
Further, it is planned to create a service center for visitors, which will be located directly in front of the Coliseum. It decided to arrange toilets, cash desks, an information office, souvenir shops and much more. Work on the construction of a service center will also be carried out as part of the restoration process.
And finally, in 2012-13. It is planned to develop the third stage of the restoration of the Coliseum, but at the time of the July press conference the organizers and the sponsor themselves did not know what kind of work would have to be carried out. Perhaps, during the repair process, additional problems will be identified, which will have to be solved in the third stage.
