Rome - Italy is shopping for a corporate sponsor willing to shell out $33 million to refurbish the 2,000-year-old Colosseum, where gladiators once did battle.

Under terms of the contract made public this week, the bidder will pay for 100 percent of the restoration in exchange for advertising rights and associated perks linked to Rome's biggest tourist attraction. The Colosseum draws more than 5 million visitors a year, producing about $47 million in ticket sales that is used for the upkeep of monuments across the city.

The sponsor would get to put its name and logo on tickets sold to the monument, and place posters no taller than 8.2 feet around the base of the structure. The sponsor also would be able to conduct private guided tours, and would have exclusive film rights of the restoration process, Giro said.

"This establishes a clear precedent," Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said in an August interview. "We hope this method can be used for other large restoration projects."

Italy had the European Union's biggest debt last year at 115.8 percent of gross domestic product and last week passed about $33 billion of spending cuts over the next two years to trim the deficit. The Culture Ministry's budget was cut by about $233 million for the three years through 2012, straining the country's efforts to maintain its monuments.

While it's common for states to reach out for private funds, as France has done for its restoration of the Versailles palace, the Colosseum marks the first time a European state has sought a sponsor to cover the full cost of a project, said Francesco Giro, undersecretary at the Culture Ministry.