The Notre Dame Gate, also known as the Notre Dame de la Grace Gate ( it, Porta della Maria Vergine delle Grazie), the Cottonera Gate, the Żabbar Gate ( mt, Il-Mina ta' Ħaż-Żabbar) or ''Bieb is-Sultan'' ( Maltese for "King's 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 ...

of the

Cottonera Lines The Cottonera Lines ( mt, Is-Swar tal-Kottonera), also known as the Valperga Lines ( mt, Is-Swar ta' Valperga), are a line of fortifications in Bormla and Birgu, Malta. They were built in the 17th and 18th centuries on higher ground and further o ...

, located in

Cottonera The Three Cities ( mt, It-Tlett Ibliet) is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Birgu, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of the Three Cities is Vittoriosa, which has existed since prior to the Middle A ...

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 ...

. The gate was built in 1675 in the

Baroque style 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 ...

, and it is currently used as the headquarters of the heritage organization Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.

History

Construction of the

began in August 1670, when there were fears of an Ottoman attack after the fall of Candia. The Notre Dame Gate was built in 1675 as the lines' main gate, and its design is attributed to

Romano Carapecchia Romano Fortunato Carapecchia (1666–1738) was an Italian Baroque architect who was active in Rome, Malta and Sicily. His designs helped transform Malta's capital Valletta into a Baroque city in the first few decades of the 18th century. Biogra ...

or Mederico Blondel. The gate is located within the Notre Dame Curtain, between Notre Dame and St. James Bastions, facing the town of

Żabbar Żabbar ( mt, Ħaż-Żabbar, ), also known as Città Hompesch, is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is the sixth largest city in the country, with a population of 15,404 as of March 2014. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar was gr ...

. It is situated at the highest point of the

area, and its roof was used to relay signals between

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

and the

coastal defences Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

on the eastern part of Malta. The gate was originally protected by a drop ditch and a

tenaille A tenaille (archaic tenalia) is an advanced defensive-work, in front of the main defences of a fortress, which takes its name from resemblance, real or imaginary, to the lip of a pair of pincers. It is "from French, literally: tongs, from Late ...

Back view of Notre Dame de la Grace Gate

The gate remained in use throughout the years of

Hospitaller 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 Church, Catholic Military ord ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The gate gradually served as an adjunct to the Cottonera Military Hospital (now

St. Edward's College St Edward's College, England is a co-educational Catholic school with academy status in the UK located in the Liverpool suburb of West Derby. Founded in 1853 as the Catholic Institute, the college was formerly a boys grammar school run by the ...

) following its construction in 1870. Many wounded soldiers were accommodated within the gate during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The gate's ditch was filled in and the drawbridge removed sometime after the 1930s, while the tenaille was demolished. The gate was damaged by aerial bombardment during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when one of the adjacent barrack blocks received a direct hit. In the early 21st century, the Notre Dame Gate was passed to the Malta Heritage Trust, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, who moved their main offices into the upper part of the gate in late 2005. The foundation has since carried out a number of restoration works to parts of the gate, which is now open to the public once every week. The gate was included on the Antiquities List of 1925, together with the rest of the Cottonera Lines. It is now scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument, and it is also listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mon ...

Architecture

The Notre Dame Gate is 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, and it has five levels, and it includes underground chambers, two barrack blocks, and a superstructure consisting of 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 ...

built on two levels, a veranda and a signalling top. The monumental façade is decorated with

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

pilasters, and it has a panel with 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 ...

surrounding a bronze bust of Grand Master

Nicolas Cotoner Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

and a marble plaque with a Latin inscription. The bust was cast by Pietro Sances of

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

in the 1670s, and it is regarded as one of the most important works of art in bronze in Malta. During the

French occupation of Malta The French occupation of Malta lasted from 1798 to 1800. It was established when the Order of Saint John surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in M ...

, the bust was taken by the French as spoils of war, but it was returned to Malta by the British. There were some failed attempts to steal the bust in the 1960s, and it was restored between 2004 and 2008.

References

{{commons category inline, Notre Dame Gate (Cottonera Lines) Buildings and structures in Birgu Gates in Malta City gates Buildings and structures completed in 1675 Baroque architecture in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands

History

Architecture

Further reading

References