First gate (1569–1633) The original gate to Valletta was known as
Porta San Giorgio, and was built during the reign of
Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette, after whom the city is named. Porta San Giorgio was possibly designed by
Francesco Laparelli, the Italian military engineer who designed most of the fortifications of Valletta, or by his Maltese assistant
Girolamo Cassar. Construction started in April 1566 and it was complete by 1569. The gate was rather plain in design, and was simply an unadorned small opening in the curtain walls. A timber bridge originally linked Porta San Giorgio with the countryside across the ditch. Sometime before 1582, a stone bridge replaced the wooden one. The bridge itself was replaced a number of times, but its rock-hewn foundations remain intact and continue to support the present bridge. In around 1586, during the reign of Grand Master
Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle, the gate was renamed
Porta Reale. In the late 16th century, a smaller outer gate was built and a triumphal arch was added above the original gate.
Second gate (1633–1853) The second city gate was built in 1633, during the magistracy of Grand Master
Antoine de Paule. This gate was more ornate than its predecessor
Porta San Giorgio, and it consisted of a central archway with a smaller arch at each side, and a wooden drawbridge across the deep, dry ditch that lies immediately outside the city walls. During the
French occupation of Malta in 1798–1800, the gate was known as
Porte Nationale. In accordance with Proclamation No. VI of 1814, which was issued by Governor Sir
Thomas Maitland, the British coat of arms was installed at the gate in 1815. This coat of arms might have been the work of the sculptor
Vincenzo Dimech. The gate was modified over time, and by the late 18th and early 19th centuries there were a number of features which had not been part of Dingli's original design. The gate was demolished in 1853 since it was too small and had to be widened.
Third gate (1853–1964) The third city gate was built in 1853, during the height of
British rule of Malta. The gate was known as
Porta Reale, and was also known as
Putirjal in
Maltese and
Kingsgate or
Kingsway in
English. The gate was designed by Col. Thompson of the
Royal Engineers, and it consisted of two central arches with two smaller ones. There were two statues on either side of the gate: one of
Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, the first Grand Master in Malta, and one of
Jean Parisot de Valette, the founder of the city. On 24 July 1892, a bronze bust of
Pope Pius V, who had made significant financial contributions to the building of Valletta, was installed above the archway on the rear of the gate. The first plans to redevelop the
Royal Opera House and the entrance of Valletta were made in the 1950s. This project was revived by Prime Minister
George Borg Olivier in 1962, focusing on the city gate. Following the demolition of the gate, the bust of Pius V was placed into storage, before being retrieved by the Valletta
Local Council in 1993. In 2005, the bust was moved to Great Siege Square, close to
St John's Co-Cathedral and the
Law Courts.
Fourth gate (1965–2011) The fourth city gate was built between June 1964 and August 1965 to designs of the architect
Alziro Bergonzo, in the
Italian rationalist style. The gate consisted of a large opening in the centre with two smaller ones on the sides, and it had a simple design with limited ornamentation. Pope Pius V Street () passed on top of the gate. Further criticism was directed towards the gate in subsequent decades, and there was public interest to replace the gate. The Italian architect
Renzo Piano first made plans to redevelop the entrance of Valletta in 1988, but the project was shelved by 1992. In 2008, the government resumed contact with Piano to replace the gate. Piano's new plans were revealed on 27 June 2009, and City Gate was demolished between 2 and 5 May 2011, with Prime Minister
Lawrence Gonzi attending the demolition. The demolition of City Gate and the nearby Freedom Square arcades cost a total of €1.39 million.
Fifth gate (2014–present) The fifth and present city gate was constructed between 2011 and 2014 to designs of Renzo Piano. This gate is very different from the previous ones, as it consists of a breach in the bastions, flanked by large blocks of stone which are separated from the curtain walls by high blades of steel. Like the fourth gate, it was also built as part of a project to redesign the city entrance. The project also turned the ruins of the
Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre known as
Pjazza Teatru Rjal, and a new
Parliament House was built occupying part of Freedom Square. The new city gate, like the rest of Piano's project, was controversial. The majority of the Maltese welcomed the demolition of the fourth gate, although it was one of the few examples of Italian rationalist architecture on the island. The Renzo Piano design incorporated many themes from the project evolving over many years, and in the case of the stone facade, this had to be quarried from the ideal location on the island to provide enough stone to frame the gate but delicate enough for the richly textured walls of the Parliament building. The Maltese Hardstone Limestone was carved, to play with the light. There is some 12,000 cubic meters of the Limestone, the aiding of sourcing and production QC was by Kevin Ramsey (Ramsey Stone Consultants). == Commemorations ==