Killing the Spirit of Rome

We hear so much about the recycling of Rome, how everything has been used and reused (just like my site, the Colosseum). Yet, today our focus is on the preservation of the old. We are careful with the ancients. Who NOW would dare to paint over a fresco, to make the Colosseum into part of a new palace wall? Are we killing the spirit of Rome by preserving instead of reusing?