Porta Montanara

Porta Montanara is a sandstone gate from the first century BCE, once part of the southern defences of Roman Ariminum. Dismantled after wartime damage, it was returned to its original position at the end of the ancient cardo in 2003.

Why it matters

The gate belongs to the earliest surviving layer of Rimini's fortifications. The municipality links it to the reorganisation of the city's defences under Sulla. It formed part of a double-arched entrance at the end of the cardo maximus and remained a city entrance into the twentieth century.

What to notice

The surviving semicircular arch is built from yellowish sandstone blocks and measures about 12.5 metres across. Excavations uncovered a guard courtyard with an inner counter-gate, evidence that the entrance was more than a simple opening in the wall. The gate stands at the end of Via Garibaldi, on the line of the Roman cardo.

Context and history

The gate's second arch was blocked in the early imperial centuries. Allied raids in 1943–44 damaged the monument, and in 1949 it was dismantled. Its stones were reassembled in a courtyard beside the Tempio Malatestiano. In 2003 the structure was returned to its original setting, restoring its relationship to the ancient street and the history of Rimini's defences.