The founder of Italian leathergoods firm Tod’s has said visitors will have access to a quarter more of Rome’s Colosseum after a planned restoration. Speaking at a press conference at the Colosseum in Rome on 22 June, 2011, Diego Della Valle said that bids for contracts on the restoration will open at the end of July. Work is expected to begin in the autumn.

In January this year, Mr Della Valle pledged to pay $36 million to clean and restore the ancient Roman arena which has been blackened by pollution and rocked by vibrations of a nearby subway line.

He is urging his entrepreneur friends to help fix ailing Italian landmarks, including Pompeii and Venice.

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