Italy is a country filled with so many historical treasures and attractions; for example, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Grand Canals of Venice, Florence’s Trevi Fountain and Milan’s Duomo, to name just a few. But perhaps none are more iconic to a worldwide audience than Rome’s Colosseum. For hundreds of years now, the Colosseum has been in dire need of repair and restoration as fires, earthquakes and current-day “ailments” have plagued Rome’s most famous monument. Several years ago, it got its “Night in Shining Armor”. Captivated by the Colosseum that he visited during his childhood, Diego Della Valle, the Chairman of Tod’s, pledged $33 million toward its restoration.
This sum isn’t enough to bring the monument completely back to it’s former glory; but at 1,500 year old, restoration HAD to start somewhere and immediately. The most noticeable clean-up was that the facade, which is now ivory in color vs. the jet black it had become due to years of neglect. With that alone, the vibe around the Colosseum is completely different- lighter and happier! When this restoration is complete later this year, it’ll still only be halfway finished. The restoration team (working tirelessly since 2013) numbers 30 and has had the pleasure of finding hidden gems while they fixed, buffed and weeded. Finding stones with painted red numbers has been amazingly exciting for them. Those “hidden” stones with Roman numerals have emerged over the entrance arches and were used to help direct the audience to their seats. Considering that only half of the “current day” Colosseum actually dates back to its original inception of 72 A.D., it’s like you’re conducting a history lesson each time you investigate further.
With much more work necessary in order bring the Eternal City’s symbol back to its former glory, we hope that Italy’s slowly increasing tradition of private philanthropy revs up. Just the maintenance alone will cost substantial sums, yearly. We can only continue to hope. Perhaps it’s best said through a quote in the movie “Gladiator”, “The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate; it’s the sands of the Colosseum”. We couldn’t agree more!