The Montanara Gate dates back to the first century BC, and was part of a general reorganization of the city's defensive walls attributed to Sulla, during the reconstruction work done in Rimini in the early decades of the century, following devastating reprisals on the city, which had supported Marius, Sulla's rival, in the civil war.
The rounded arch made in sandstone blocks was one of the two openings in the gate that gave access to the city for travellers from the hills along the Via Arretina, which ran along the River Marecchia valley. The double gateway facilitated the flow of traffic, dividing those leaving Ariminum from the Cardus Maximus from those entering it.
Archaeological excavations have shown the presence of a large walled courtyard immediately inside the gate, terminating in a second gate, confirming the complexity of the defensive structures.
The northwards archway was closed in the next few centuries, and the remaining archway continued to mark the entrance to the city until the Second World War.
In the turbulent reconstruction of the city following the end of the war, the part of the gate that had been visible for centuries was destroyed, but the section hidden in the walls of the adjacent houses was recovered.
The rediscovered arch was eventually reconstructed next to the Malatesta Temple, far from itsoriginal site
Are you a local? What do you think about Porta Montanara?
Login to suggest it!