The Colosseum is leaning almost as much as the Tower of Pisa according to the findings of in-depth surveys before restoration work starts on monument.

The south of the structure is 40 cms off the horizontal because of what may be a fracture in its foundations. The director of the monument who has been coordinating the detailed research on the structure of the Colosseum has just announced the findings although experts have known about them for some time.

According to a recent announcement by Rome’s mayor, Gianni Alemanno, work on the monument is supposed to start on 31 July. But to be more precise that is the date the ministry of the national heritage will announce details of the restoration, which it hopes will start at the end of December.

Tod’s, the shoe manufacturer owned by Diego Della Valle, has agreed to finance €25 million of the work on Rome’s most famous ancient monument in return for use of the Colosseum as a marketing logo for the next 15 years.

Since the deal with Tod’s was signed in 2011 it has been the subject of numerous court cases about the use of the image and the company’s advertising on the façade of the ancient Roman amphitheatre. The most recent of these has now been cleared in favour of the shoe manufacturer.