The historic re-enactment festival in Tarragona was created in 1999, with the sole intention of supporting the city’s bid for World Heritage status. After more than two decades, they still spend two weeks each May teaching visitors about the classical world in general and the Roman empire in particular. There are annual performances, such as gladiator fights in the amphitheatre and concerts with traditional instruments, the rest are designed around the specific theme that Tarraco Viva selects each year. During those days when the city once again becomes Tarraco, one of the major cities of the Roman Empire, we have seen stories of emperors, reproductions of the polychromy of the Augustus de Prima Porta or the Ara Pacis, the functioning of the senate or that of the legions. The festival includes interactive activities such as little Roman cooking workshops or the possibility of being a gladiator for a day.