Diego Della Valle, chairman of the Tod’s Group, holder of 19.05 per cent of Saks Fifth Avenue, owner of Fiorentino FC and BFF of Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, possible Berlusconi rival, is stepping up his efforts to become the saviour of the Made in Italy brand, broadly defined. Defined, in fact, to include any cultural institution that is, or has been, Made in Italy.

Diego Della Valle - - Getty Images

Thus, post-making the largest-ever private donation to Milan’s opera house, La Scala, and funding two years’ worth of productions (the price: a short film wherein La Scala ballet company performs a dance about the making of a Tod’s shoe – - it’s the first thing you see when you go their website) he has offered to completely fund the restoration of the Colosseum for €25m. According to Reuters, the government had asked for tendors from the private sector earlier this year, but apparently no one had come forward. Indeed, at the time Mr Della Valle himself did not come forward, as the one of the conditions was that the Colosseum angel also organise the restoration, a big logistical headache for any super-rich man with a global company to run. Now, presumably, that the government is a little desperate, he has offered to do the funding if they agree to take care of organising the project.