Bullfights and other public events were held in the plaza until Governor-General Rafael Maria de Aguilar converted it into a garden in 1797.

[4] Plaza de Roma is surrounded by three important landmarks of Intramuros: the Manila Cathedral to the south, the Palacio del Gobernador to the west, and the Casas Consistoriales, also known as the Ayuntamiento de Manila, to the east.

[5] At the center of Plaza de Roma is a monument to Charles IV of Spain which was erected in 1824[3] in his honor for having sent the first batch of smallpox vaccine to the Philippines.

[6] In 1978, President Ferdinand Marcos ordered the restoration of the Plaza de Roma along with other sites in Intramuros.

[7] The work was completed by the then-newly established Intramuros Administration in 1980[2] and the original Charles IV was re-installed in the plaza in 1981.