An Italian adage that "Rome and the world are safe, so long as the Colosseum stands" brought mass hysteria to Italy in 1954. On May 18, engineers were alarmed by huge cracks appearing in the 1,800-year-old amphitheater. Someone suggested the sign had come, and set the day of destruction at May 24. Thousands besieged the Vatican, hoping that the pope would absolve them from their sins. Despite a sharp rebuke from a Vatican prelate, who also added, "The world will see Tuesday and more Tuesdays to come," thousands appeared in St. Peter's Square on May 24. The prelate was proved right, and builders were sent to repair the Colosseum.
And this time???? ;-)
Interesting.
There's a pretty solid case to be made that that's a mistranslation, and that the original form was "as long as the colossus stands." The colossus was pulled down around 1000 AD and melted down for the bronze (except maybe for the bits in the Capitoline Museum). So we're screwed.