Even the Vatican is becoming hard pressed to maintain the old churches. Not enough locals living in the central part of Rome to attend Mass there, thus no tithing to help with maintenance. Tourist dollars are not enough.
I always thought it would be a good way to maintain old buildings by repairing them and putting them to use. I haven’t been to Rome personally, but it looks to me like the Coliseum could be fixed up and put use. The other option to photograph and video tape the findings and then rebury them.
Old churches are not prime attractions—but some of the finds on the old palatine hill such as Nero’s palace could be and should be preserved.
it looks to me like the Coliseum could be fixed up and put useThat sounds like a good idea. That thing was well built, barrel vaults stacked on one another, shrinking toward the center, and other than modern plumbing and an arena floor over the old staging areas, and possibly a restoration of the big shade over the crowd, it seems doable. The paintings from prior to 1900 show trees growing on the top, and it's probable there was other growth all through it, so it would need a good look from engineers. But even so, a fully restored arena could make for even better tours.
Condo conversion, perhaps?