A Rome court on Friday dismissed a criminal complaint that consumer group Codacons had brought against luxury shoemaker Tod's regarding its sponsorship of the Colosseum restoration, but in its decision cited "serious doubts" regarding the sponsorship contract and the way it was set up, Codacons said on Friday.
Following the court's written opinion, Codacons has decided to send a formal complaint to Italian Cultural Minister Dario Francheschini as well as to Rome's archaeological superintendency regarding the sponsorship.
The group said it will request that the company headed by Diego Della Valle be forced to reduce the number of years it can have exclusive use of the Colosseum brand, or to pay the government an amount equivalent to the financial gains the company has received in free advertising due to the sponsorship agreement.
Previously, Codacons had filed a suit to block Tod's from proceeding in the restoration project, on the grounds that the project lacked transparency and gave too many concessions to Della Valle.
In April, Della Valle announced the company filed a 36-million-euro defamation lawsuit against Codacons.
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