City Gate (Malta)

City Gate - also known as Putirjal in Maltese - is the main entrance to Malta's capital city, Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is most commonly called Bieb il-Belt, "Door to the city".

The present City Gate (currently under construction) will be the fifth to have stood at the entrance to Valletta. The original gate, known as Porta San Giorgio, was designed by military engineer Francesco Laparelli de Carotona, and was erected between April 1566 and 1569. It was replaced in 1632 by a more ornate gate designed by Maltese architect Tommaso Dingli, during the rule of Fra Antoine de Paule, Grand Master of the Knights of St. John. Dingli's design consisted of a central archway with a smaller arch at each side, and a wooden drawbridge across the deep, dry moat that lies immediately outside the walls of Valletta.

In 1853, at the height of British rule over Malta, a new gate designed by a certain Col. Thompson of the Royal Engineers was erected, consisting of two central arches with two smaller ones. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, City Gate was known as Porta Reale, which became "Putirjal" in Maltese, and "Kingsway" in English.

City Gate celebrations by the British and Pro-British Maltese

The fourth City Gate was inaugurated in 1964 and it was part of a project that never materialised, that of redeveloping the entrance to Valletta and the Royal Opera House. Its Italian modernism design was the source of much controversy. Recent years have witnessed growing public interest in the redevelopment of City Gate and the Royal Opera House, situated nearby. Celebrated Italian architect Renzo Piano,^[1] and local Maltese architect Richard England both submitted designs for a new City Gate, but the project stalled at the time due to poor public reaction.

In 2011 work started to a second design by Renzo Piano for the gate and surrounding area which should see the area renovated over the coming years. As part of that works the previous gate structure was demolished in May 2011. This project is however also mired in controversy particularly Piano's solution which actually creates a breach in the city walls not to mention his design for a roofless national theatre. ^[2]

References

1. ^ See: Renzo Piano's Official Website, at www.rpbw.com
2. ^ http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110412/local/city-gate-to-be-demolished-next-month.359519

Coordinates: 35°53′46.2″N 14°30′33.5″E / 35.896167°N 14.509306°E / 35.896167; 14.509306

External links

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