Notre Dame Gate

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The Notre Dame Gate or as it is also known Bieb is-Sultan, Cottonera Gate, Zabbar Gate or the Notre Dame de la Grace Gate is the main gate of the Cottonera Lines. In the 17th Century, the knights feared an Ottoman attack thus in 1670 they decided to build the Cottonera Lines to be able to defend the island. Five years later in 1675 the Notre Dame Gate was completed. The gate is built in the Baroque style and has five levels which comprises underground chambers, two barrack blocks and a superstructure consisting of a gatehouse built on two levels, a veranda and a signaling top. The façade is decorated with Corinthian pilasters and it has a panel with a trophy of arms surrounding a bronze bust of Grand Master Nicholas Cottoner and a marble plaque with a Latin inscription. The roof of the gate was used to relay signals between Valletta and the Coastal defences on the eastern part of Malta. Initially, the gate was protected by a drop ditch and a tenaille. The gate remained in use under the Order of St. John, the French, and the British. During the Second World War, the gate was damaged during an aerial bombing. The Notre Dame Gate is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands and today it serves as the Headquarters of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. In collaboration with Kottonera Foundation.