The Arch of Septimius Severus - one of ancient Rome's most recognised monuments - is to undergo a programme of restoration and maintenance works in September. The news was announced by the Parco archeologico del Colosseo which, in addition to the Colosseum, incorporates the Palatine Hill, Domus Aurea and the Roman Forum which is home to the triumphal arch.

Parco Colosseo says the 23m-high monument, which stands at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in the north-west corner of the Forum, is in a "precarious state of conservation due to physical, biological and chemical deterioration."