1 December 2011 - RESTORATION WORKS AND CONTROVERSY #2 - ARI (the association of Italian Restorers ) has sent an open letter to the newly appointed Minister of Heritage, Lorenzo Ornaghi, asking to stop the bidding procedure for the restoration of the Colosseum, in order to avoid irreparable damages to the Colosseum. ARI maintains that the Special Commissioner Roberto Cecchi has interpreted the law so that the call for tenders of Aug. 8th 2011 was destined in fact to building companies and not to companies specialised in restoration of monuments. Moreover, the restoration of the monument has been the subject of a "saggio esecutivo" by the Istituto Centrale del Restauro that clearly showed what and how to do on the Colosseum. In conclusion, ARI believes that the Colosseum will receive more damages than benefits by the Tod's Group operation.
19 November 2011 - RESTORATION WORKS AND CONTROVERSY
Under Secretary Francesco Giro (now ex Under Secretary after the fall of the
Berlusconi government) announced that the restoration works for the Colosseum will start
between May and June 20112. The delay is due to the "newness" of the sponsorship
(by the shoe company Tod's Group - see below).
In the meantime, Codacons, a consumer association, has lodged a complaint to the
administrative tribunal against the entrusting of the works to the Group. Codacons
maintains that the sponsorship infringes the bidding law. The bids are actually two:
one of 8.7 million Euro regarding the restoration of the facade and a
new barrier in the ground floor arches and another - of
about 4.6 million Euro - for the construction of a "centro servizi" (service
centre) between the Colosseum and via Celio Vibenna.
Codacons claims that the Special Commissioner Roberto Cecchi went beyond his powers when
he signed the agreement
with Tod's, that the call for tenders - indefinite and vague - allowed for the entrusting
the works directly to the Tod's Group, despite a first negative evaluation of their
proposal.
Moreover UIL, a Trade Union, had also appealed the Rome Tribunal through its
National Cultural Heritage "Coordinamento", for basically the same
reasons, adding also that 25 million Euro for the exploitation of the Colosseum image is a
gift to Tod's, since "... any economist would evaluate the agreement over 200
million Euro, considering the exclusive rights and the duration of over 15 years with a
communication plan ... saleable all over the world." UIL informs that
recently Wolkswagen asked our Cultural Heritage Ministry for permission to use the
Colosseum for advertising, and were ready to fork out between 500.000 and 1.500.000 Euro
(proposal that could not be accepted because of the 21 January agreement).
The Roma Mayor Alemanno declared that the bidding procedure was regular and that the
Tribunal will control its lawfulness.
We'll see...
January 2011 - Sponsorship for restoration works!!
Tod's Group is sponsoring major works of the Colosseum. The
head of Tod's shoe company, Diego Della Valle, signed on Jan. 2011 an agreement with the
authorities committing 25 million Euro to
restore the monument. In exchange the Association "Amici del Colosseo", created
by the sponsor, will get exclusive rights to use the image of the monument for
advertisement for 15 years and will build a service centre for advertidsing. Here is the text of the
agreement (in Italian).
March 2003 - Paul McCartney at the Colosseum - there have been two concerts: the first one on the 10th inside the monument, for about 400 people paying about 500-100 Euros a ticket (money is destined to the Stop Land Mines charity) and the following night another great one outside, in front of 500.000 people. We were there. Daniele went at 9 in the morning to occupy a place near the stage. We - older fans - went much later and enjoyed the show from the big screens along Via dei Fori Imperiali. It was unforgettable! The light show on the Colosseum was amazing! Thank you Paul ! You never stop giving us emotions !
Sept 2002 - The municipality of Rome shall issue a license of Gladiator. click here
July 2001 - An interesting story on the works to be done, found at nationalgeographic.com: Rome Colosseum Being Restored for Wider Public Viewing
May 2001 - Nero's lake reappears after a storm
March 2001 - The Colosseum is the real wonder of the world, at least according to the Italians who have voted in an internet poll about the new 7 wonders (if you want to vote go to http://www.new7wonders.com ). The initiative was promoted by the magazine Focus and the Stargate TV program, on Italian TV Tele Monte Carlo. The Colosseum is 4th in the international score, after the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Chichén Itzà Pyramid.
The Italian votes went to:
Colosseum
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Great Wall of China
Eiffel Tower
Palazzo Ducale in Venice
Moai sculptures in Easter Island
Machu Picchu
(From the magazine Focus - March 2001)
July 2000 - Sophocles' tragedies represented in the amphitheatre
