The restoration works on the Hypogea of the Colosseum carried out by Cobar SpA
ROME – The consolidation works on the Hypogea of the Colosseum in Rome was inaugurated today. They were carried out by Cobar SpA, an Apulian company headquartered in Altamura and specialized in the design of public and private building works: it is recognized as one of the best in the country for restoration, maintenance and renovation of monuments of high artistic value protected under cultural and environmental heritage law (theaters, museums, churches, shrines, monasteries, historic buildings, etc..), and in the design, installation, maintenance and servicing of hi-tech systems. Among its latest completed projects, a notable mention is the restoration of the Kursaal Theatre in Bari, returned to the city after over ten years of closure.
Originally started on September 20, 2018, the works continued on for 811 days, which account for over two months of suspension caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The site employed 13 construction workers, 42 restorers and 9 archaeologists, accounting for a total of 55,723 work hours performed by workers and restorers, the equivalent to 6,965 days of 8-hour shifts, or 28 years of work performed by a single person.
Inside the area, conservation and restoration works have been performed of the hypogea as well as explorative analyses, archaeological excavations and consolidation works of the structures. In particular, the following works were carried out: archaeological excavations and geognostic coring on the foundations; removal of vegetation; biocide treatment of all surfaces (masonry and flooring); rinsing and brushing of all surfaces; restriping of joints in brick walls; surface consolidation of travertine and peperino facings; extensive grouting on all surfaces; insertion of stainless steel pins, basalt fiber and fiberglass for the consolidation of flakes in detachment; reinforcement with stainless steel strands; injections of consolidating mortar and / or epoxy resin for the reattachment of flakes and plaster; anastylosis localized reconstructions of small portions of masonry; insertion of metal reinforcements for local critical areas (i. e. steel brackets and props to support detached blocks); restoration of all the “trunks”; protective treatment of all the masonry surfaces; deep cleaning of the joints between the tesserae of the opus spicatum floor; re-striping of the opus spicatum floor; filling of the archaeological inlays with brick and pozzolan chips (“deconstructed opus spicatum”); realization of the new metal walkway for touristic visits to the hypogea, composed of 124 modules for a length of about 160mt and with a surface of about 200sqm, of the panels and of the lighting system.
