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A total of five city gates have served as the main entrance to Valletta, Malta's capital city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first gate was originally known as Porta San Giorgio, and it was later renamed Porta Reale, a name which was retained by the successive gates, and which was corrupted into ''Putirjal'' in Maltese. Since the 1960s, the entrance has been known as City Gate, or ''Bieb il-Belt'' (City Door) in Maltese. The city gate is built in the Porta Reale Curtain, a curtain wall at the centre of the Valletta Land Front, located between St. James' and St. John's Bastions. The Triton Fountain and Valletta's bus terminus are located just outside the City Gate. A bridge spanning across Valletta's deep ditch leads to the gate. The gate marks the beginning of Republic Street (formerly Strada Reale), Valletta's main street which goes all the way until Fort Saint Elmo at the opposite end of the city. The buildings in the immediate vicinity of the City Gate include the Parliament House, the ruins of the Royal Opera House and the City Gate Shopping Arcade. Saint James Cavalier and Saint John's Cavalier are located on either side of the gate, near the Parliament House and shopping arcade respectively. In October 2014, an art installation incorporating elements of Valletta's five city gates was inaugurated close to the bus terminus. The installation was designed by Chris Briffa and it commemorates Valletta's selection as European Capital of Culture in 2018. ==First City Gate== 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. Little else is known about the gate. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「City Gate (Valletta)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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