Colosseum

FROM TRADITION TO INNOVATION

Discover our enhancement project of the southern ambulatories of the Colosseum

There are many ways to take care of our country's most precious assets, a cultural heritage that has no equal in the world. With the Mapei for Culture brand, we have given a name to the way we contribute today to the restoration and conservation of some of the most prestigious historical and architectural treasures, in Italy and abroad. In addition to this technical role, we also carry out long-term patronage.

Today Mapei is technical partner involved in the restoration of one of the most beloved and visited monuments in the world: the Colosseum.

The project involves the repaving of the ambulatory area in the southern sector. For this intervention, the Mapei laboratories have developed specific products in record time using materials, such as lime, which are very similar to those used in Roman times but renovated to achieve the best possible performance.

To celebrate this important project, which confirms Mapei's attention to culture and the restoration of Italy's historical heritage, we have chosen, for the first time, to "change our clothes", with a packaging dedicated to the Colosseum.

Mapei is the technical sponsor of the project to enhance the southern ambulatories of the Colosseum, thanks to next-generation solutions specifically developed by its research laboratories.

History, culture and commitment to safeguarding the artistic and monumental heritage: Mapei participates as Technical Sponsor in the interventions to enhance the southern ambulatories of one of the most beloved and visited monuments in the world: the Colosseum. The interventions are aimed at the musealisation of the two missing rings of the southern side with the perspective of opening to the public a new sector of the amphitheater and restoring the monument to its original geometry.

Mapei is taking part in the work by supplying new-generation materials specifically developed by its research and development laboratories, following the public tender issued by the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo.

In recent years, the project, coordinated by the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo, has involved the excavation of the collapse and reuse levels of the two corridors (first and second ambulatories) of the southern front of the monument, which collapsed due to demolitions and earthquakes as early as the 6th-7th centuries and were immediately affected by plundering and reuse over the centuries that followed. With the excavation completed and documented, we are now proceeding with the redevelopment of the space of the ambulatories to improve the monument's accessibility and interpretation as it has reached us today, through the use of cutting-edge materials that respect the dictates of contemporary restoration while ensuring its chemical and physical compatibility with the pre-existing structure.

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We are enthusiastic to be involved in the restoration and enhancement of an area of the Colosseum, one of the most important monuments in history. This project represents our way of contributing to the preservation and enhancement of historical heritage: developing innovative products that respect tradition and are, capable of responding to the specific needs of each intervention. A commitment born from a passion for art and culture and the awareness that it is our responsibility to preserve the artistic and cultural heritage for future generations.

Veronica Squinzi
Mapei CEO

The Mapei products specifically developed for this project

The enhancement work involves the restoration of the pavement in the area of the collapsed southern ambulatories through the construction of a new lime-based, cement-free screed using Mape-Antique NHL Eco Massetto, on which travertine slabs will be laid with the lime-based, cement-free adhesive Mape-Antique NHL Eco Adesivo.
These two new-generation products were developed in Mapei's research and development laboratories in record time, using materials quite similar to those of Roman times, such as lime, but innovated to ensure the best performance.

To celebrate this important collaboration, the company decided, for the first time, to create packaging specifically dedicated to the Colosseum for the products used - an action that highlights the importance of this project for Mapei.

MAPE-ANTIQUE NHL ECO MASSETTO

Natural hydraulic lime eco screed material, cement-free, for making screeds before laying natural stone and stone material.

Pure NHL based, cement free product
Contains recycled material (CAM criteria)
To be mixed with aggregates of different nature and grain size
Volumetrically stable
High resistance to soluble salt
Does not induce efflorescence

MAPE-ANTIQUE NHL ECO ADESIVO

Eco and cement-free adhesive based on natural hydraulic lime, for laying stone material and/or natural stone

Pure NHL based, cement free product
Contains recycled material (CAM criteria)
High-performance
Fast setting time and hydration
Deformable
Does not induce efflorescence
Walkable after 6 hour

Project Journal

Follow the activities of the enhancement project of the southern ambulatories of the Colosseum,
through updates and insights from our articles in Realtà Mapei Magazine.

READ ALL OUR ARTICLES

Mapei for Culture

Aware that culture represents the foundation and identity of a community, Mapei has always been committed to supporting important cultural institutions and projects around the world - including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, La Scala Theater in Milan, the recent restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris and the Hegra Conservation Project in Saudi Arabia - by providing expertise, technologies and solutions for the restoration and conservation of artistic and monumental heritage.

This commitment now has a name, Mapei for Culture, and it defines in a simple and clear way what has always been written in the company's DNA: passion for art, love for culture, and commitment to the protection and restoration of both Italian and international historical and monumental heritage.