Sometimes it’s hard to picture the way things used to be, but that’s what old photos are there for, right?! For those who frequently visit the historic capital city of Valletta, it’s hard to imagine that the now famous Republic Street, also known as Strada Rjali, used to look any different. Well it did…

Since the city’s initial erection in the 16^th century, both the gate and the main street have experienced many changes, as the picture below so fantastically illustrates!

The nostalgic image, which was posted on the Facebook group Malta Lura Fil Passat, depicts the city’s entrance, with it’s old gate and half of the Royal Opera House still intact.

Better known among the Maltese as It-Teatru Rjal, the Opera House was a performing arts venue designed by the English architect Edward Middleton Barry, and built in the year 1866. It was then an iconic building with a now very sad past…

A sad fate

The glorious building first suffered interior damage from a fire in 1873. However, in 1877 it was quickly restored back to its full glory. It stood proudly in Valletta’s entrance, but not for long…

On 7^th April 1942, the Opera House was directly hit by a bomb, which caused irreversible damage to the entrance and the auditorium and left a large hole in the roof. Even though some of the structure remained, in the 1950’s, the building had to be levelled down due to safety issues. Since then, the Opera House never looked the same again…

Restoration

In fact, after many controversies and failed restoration attempts, in 2013, the building was finally placed into the hands of architect Renzo Piano, who turned the historic site into an open-air theatre. To this day, the original structure remains intact, and the building was renamed Pjazza Teatru Rjal.

Similarly, the building to right has also undergone massive changes, as it is now the House of Parliament! In fact, the reconstruction was part of the same project that restored the Royal Opera House.

And with these changes, so did the city gate experience a remodel! Interestingly enough, since its inception, Valletta has had five different gates!

The third one, known as Porta Reale, Putrijal, Kingsgate, and Kingsway, served as the city's gate between 1853 and 1964, and even though it survived the destruction of World War II, two other structures followed, with the fifth being the current gate, also part of the Renzo Piano project.