Rome’s Coliseum will be getting a much-needed facelift, thanks to funding from the owner of Italian shoe company Tod’s.
Located in the centre of the city, the exterior of the Coliseum has become blackened by car exhaust, with as many as 2,000 vehicles whizzing past it per hour, while the subway running underneath shakes its very foundation.
With the government unable to afford the $34.3 million needed to do the necessary repairs, citizen Diego Della Valle, owner of Tod’s, has stepped forward to provide the financing.
In exchange for his contribution, Della Valle will have exclusive advertising rights on the Coliseum, though he’s expressed reluctance to use them. "I’m not going to put a shoe on the Tod’s Coliseum," said Della Valle, insisting that funding the renovations of one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering is "a duty and a pleasure."
The Coliseum was built between 70 and 80 AD during the height of the Roman Empire. Capable of seating 50,000 spectators in its prime, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built by the Romans.