COLLOSSEUM TO BE RESTORED THIS YEAR
Baku, May 27 (AZERTAC). One of Italy`s most popular landmarks, the Colosseum will undergo restoration this year as part of
a 40-million euro revamp of historic sites in the capital Rome. The city`s mayor Gianni Alemanno announced the restoration on Friday after presenting plans for Rome`s latest bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
"The restoration is part of a larger strategic development plan," Alemanno told reporters in Rome. Rome previously hosted the Olympic Games, officially known as the games of the XVII Olympiad in 1960. Alemanno last year promised to conduct restoration work on the Colosseum beginning in April 2010 to mark the capital`s 2,763rd birthday. The Colosseum restoration is part of a broader plan to revamp the neighbouring Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, an area of marble columns and foundations which was once the administrative and social centre of the Roman Empire.
Alemanno on Friday said that private funds would also be used to help restore the Colosseum. Also known as the Flavian amphitheatre, it was commissioned by Roman Emperor Vespasian in 72 A.D. and officially opened by his son, Titus, in 80 A.D.
About 100 days of games were held by Titus, Vespasian`s successor, to mark the inauguration of the building and 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered there.
It was the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman empire and considered one of the greatest examples of Roman architecture and engineering. But it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries due to earthquakes and pillaging. Millions of local and international tourists visit the monument every year and it is one of the country`s most popular tourist attractions.
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