Vinicius Migliori Barbosa Luka Vasic Iva Zelcic Valletta Main Gates Vinicius Migliori Barbosa Luka Vasic Iva Zelcic

St George’s Gate Did you know that Valletta has had no less than five main gates since its foundation? The first gate, known as Porta San Giorgio or St George’s Gate was designed by the city’s architect Francesco Laparelli da Cortona and was built between April 1566 and 1569. This gate was replaced in 1632 when a more elaborate gate consisting of a large archway with two smaller ones at each side was erected. This gate was designed by Maltese architect Tommaso Dingli during the rule of Grand Master Antoine de Paule.

love Then, in 1853 during the British period the Dingli gate was demolished and a new one, designed by Colonel Thompson of the Royal engineers was built. This gate, known as Porta Reale (Putirjal in Maltese) or Royal Gate consisted of two central arches and two smaller ones. The fourth city gate, designed by the Italian architect Alziro Bergonzo was built in 1964-the year Malta became independent.

In 2011 this gate was pulled down to make way for a new entrance which at the time of writings is still under construction. This entrance was designed by Renzo Piano, another Italian architect.

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