Republic Street (), historically known as Strada Reale () or Kingsway, is a principal street in the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, Malta. It is about 1 kilometer long (0.6 miles) and is known for legislative, judiciary and commercial purposes. It is mostly pedestrianised. Republic Street extends from

City Gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

towards the granaries at Fort St. Elmo. In its downward course the main street runs perpendicular with several other streets given Valletta's grid layout. It also encounters several buildings and squares of note, such as

, Freedom Square, the

Parliament of Malta The Parliament of Malta () is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the president of Malta. By constitutional law, all gover ...

Palazzo Ferreria Palazzo Ferreria, officially Palazzo Buttiġieġ-Francia, is a palace found near the entrance of Valletta, the capital city of Malta. It was built in the late 19th century. Designed by architect Giuseppe Bonavia, it makes use of an interesting co ...

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, the

Archaeology Museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum.'' Cambridge, Ma ...

, St. John's Square, the Courts of Justice, the Casino Maltese, Republic Square, Grandmaster's Palace, St. George's Square, Spinola Palace, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry,

Casa Rocca Piccola Casa Rocca Piccola is a 16th-century palace in Malta, and home of the noble Maltese family de Piro. It is situated in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. There are daily tours from 10am till 5pm (last admission 4pm). The palace includes a BnB w ...

and others. The street is managed by the

Local Council as well as the

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

government, including waste management. The street is mostly dedicated to pedestrians, with highly limited vehicle use – only commercial vehicles loading and unloading in the early morning are allowed. This also applies to general maintenance vehicles. Only

karozzin The karozzin is a Maltese traditional mode of transport consisting of a carriage pulled by a horse. It was once popular for general transit and is still used in ceremonies such as funerals, and as a tourist attraction. It is mostly found in Mdi ...

i and electric cabs are allowed to drive up and down the street, while taxis can cross at intersections. The Malta Police Force uses

Segways A Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter device invented by Dean Kamen. The name is a registered trademark of Segway Inc. It was brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, and then subsequently as the Segway PT. ''HT'' ...

to patrol the streets.

History

After the

Great Siege of Malta The Great Siege of Malta (Maltese language, Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May t ...

, Valletta was planned and built on a grid's layout by the

Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

, with Republic Street (back then, Strada San Giorgio) in the midst, to become the main street of the city. The street has had several different names over the course of history. During the

it was known ''Strada San Giorgio'', during the

French occupation of Malta The island of Malta was occupied by France from 1798 to 1800. The Knights Hospitaller surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in Maltese history (as ...

it was named ''Rue Nationale'', during the

Crown Colony of Malta The Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies (commonly known as the Crown Colony of Malta or simply Malta) was the British colony in the Maltese islands, that has become the modern Republic of Malta. It was established when the ...

it was named ''Strada Reale''; and during the period of the further

Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of Malta under

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sir Gerald Strickland, the street was named ''Kingsway'' in 1936. The Maltese renamed the street to its current name. Republic Street was bombed heavily in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and suffered much damage like the rest of the region. This was due to its location in the heart of one of the most important cities in Malta. In the contemporary day, Valletta is a hub of political, legislative, judiciary, commercial, business, retail and social reasons, such as fashion and music. It becomes busy during the Christmas period. File:Strada Reale, Valletta 1859.jpg, Strada Reale in 1859 File:Bartoli Galea establishment, Kingsway Valletta.jpg, Bartoli Galea's establishment on Kingsway, 1880 (later ''A la ville de Londres'') File:Richard Ellis, The Ellis Studio on Kingsway, Valletta.jpg, The

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. It has also been noted to be a Jewish surname. People with the surname include ...

photo studio on Kingsway, ca. 1900 File:Richard Ellis, Kingston dispensary, Valletta.jpg, Kingston dispensary on Strada Reale, ca. 1900 File:Old Valletta Railway Station (Reception).jpg, Old Valletta Railway Station on Kingsway, ca. 1900 File:Richard Ellis, Kingsway Valletta, International Eucharistic Congress, April 1913.jpg, International Eucharistic Congress on Kingsway, 1913, by Richard Ellis File:Valletta Republic Street by night.jpg, Republic Street in October 2023.

References

{{Valletta Roads in Malta Geography of Valletta

History

See also

References