Built on a project by the engineer Pio Pizzamiglio in 1871 in the place of an ancient defensive bastion demolished the year before, the Porta Roman gate is located where Porta Contrastanga had stood since the end of the 13th century. The square just outside the walls is also named after the city gate and today it is home to important public buildings. The square is dominated by two propylaea, which are monumental entryways to the “Campo de li Giochi”, or “Field of Games”, built in 1932 following the design of the Roman architect Cesare Bazzani in the place of a public park. This is where the city’s historical tournaments of the “Giostra della Quintana” are held every year, a horse race originated among the city’s young nobility during the carnival of 1613. In the current version the race is performed by ten competitors, representing each city district, racing at a gallop while trying to center and remove with their lance the small hoops hanging on the arm of a wooden dummy placed at the center of the racetrack.
