Mdina Gate ( mt, Il-Bieb tal-Imdina), also known as the Main Gate or the Vilhena Gate, is the main
gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
into the
fortified
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
city of
Mdina
Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdin ...
,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. It was built in the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style in 1724 to designs of
Charles François de Mondion
Charles François de Mondion (6 October 1681 – 25 December 1733) was a French architect and military engineer who was active in Hospitaller Malta in the early 18th century. He was also a member of the Order of Saint John.
Career
Mondion was bo ...
, during the magistracy of Grand Master
António Manoel de Vilhena
António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand Ma ...
.
History
The city of ''Maleth'' was founded by the
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
ns in around 700 BC, and it later became part of the Roman Empire under the name
Melite. The Punic-Roman city occupied all of present-day Mdina, and its walls also extended into part of
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
. The city was reduced to its present size sometime during the early medieval period, either by the Byzantines or the Arabs. By the 15th century, the city (now known as Mdina) was defended by a system of double walls on the land front, with the main entrance being located close to the southeast corner of the city, near a tower known as the ''Turri Mastra''.
![Mdina Gate and Old Gate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Mdina_Gate_and_Old_Gate.jpeg)
In the medieval period, the main entrance to Mdina consisted of three gates which were separated by
courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
s. The outer gate was called the ''Prima Porta Principale'' or the ''Porta di Santa Maria'', and it was decorated with the coat of arms of Sua Cesarea Majestati in 1527. A
barbican
A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.
Europe ...
was built to protect the gate sometime after 1448, but it was demolished in 1551 since it was no longer regarded as being suitable for defence. It is believed that this gate was reconstructed by the
Order of St. John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
in the early 17th century.
[
In 1722, Grand Master ]António Manoel de Vilhena
António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand Ma ...
issued orders for the restoration and renovation of Mdina. The city entrance was completely rebuilt, and a new Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
gate was built to designs of the French architect Charles François de Mondion
Charles François de Mondion (6 October 1681 – 25 December 1733) was a French architect and military engineer who was active in Hospitaller Malta in the early 18th century. He was also a member of the Order of Saint John.
Career
Mondion was bo ...
in 1724. Since the courtyards behind the old gate were demolished to make way for the Palazzo Vilhena
Vilhena Palace ( mt, Il-Palazz De Vilhena; it, Palazzo Vilhena), also known as the Magisterial Palace ( mt, Palazz Maġisterjali) and Palazzo Pretorio, is a French Baroque palace in Mdina, Malta. It is named after António Manoel de Vilhena, ...
, the original gate was walled up and the new one was built a couple of metres to its left. The city's medieval fortifications were also rebuilt at this point, and the ''Turri Mastra'' was demolished and replaced by the ''Torre dello Standardo
The ''Torre dello Standardo'' ( en, Tower of the Standard, mt, It-Torri tal-Istandard) is a tower in Mdina, Malta, forming part of the city's fortifications. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1725 and 1726, on the site of an earli ...
''.[
The Mdina Gate was depicted on a £M 2 commemorative silver coin minted by the ]Central Bank of Malta
The Central Bank of Malta ( mt, Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta) is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European Syste ...
in 1973. The rear of the gate, along with the ''Torre dello Standardo'', was depicted on the Lm 5 banknote that was in circulation between 1989 and 2007.
The gate was restored in 2008 by the Restoration Unit of the Works Department.
Today, the Mdina Gate is one of the main tourist attractions of Mdina. The gate was included on the Antiquities List of 1925. It is now scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument, and it is also listed on the .
Architecture
The Mdina Gate consists of a Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
portal and a superstructure serving as a gatehouse
A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...
. The portal is decorated with double pilasters, the coats of arms of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena
António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand Ma ...
and the city of Mdina, a trophy of arms
A trophy or trophy of arms in art and architecture is a real or depicted artistically assembled display of weaponry and other militaria, often captured from a defeated enemy, as an ornament designed for the purpose of triumphalist display by a ...
and a Latin inscription reading:[
The rear of the gate is decorated with reliefs of St. Publius, St. Agatha and ]St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, who are the patron saints of Malta.
An arched stone bridge, which is decorated by statues of lions holding the coat of arms of Vilhena or the town of Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
, leads to the gate. A wooden ''à la Vauban'' drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
originally linked the bridge to the gate.[
]
In popular culture
The Mdina Gate represented one of the gates of King's Landing in the filming of ''Lord Snow
"Lord Snow" is the third episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones''. It first aired on May 1, 2011. It was written by series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by series regul ...
'', the third episode of the first season of ''Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''.
See also
*Greeks Gate
The Greeks Gate ( mt, Bieb il-Griegi or ; it, Porta dei Greci; la, Porta Grecorum) is a gate into the fortified city of Mdina, Malta. The gate was originally built in the medieval period, and its outer portal was built in the Baroque style i ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{Mdina
Mdina
Gates in Malta
City gates
Buildings and structures completed in 1724
Baroque architecture in Malta
Limestone buildings in Malta
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
1724 establishments in Malta