Republic Street, Valletta

Republic Street (Maltese: Triq ir-Repubblika), historically known as Strada Reale (Maltese: Strada Rjali) or Kingsway, is a principal street in the capital city of Valletta, 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

Republic Street
Native name	Triq ir-Repubblika (Maltese)
Former name(s)	Rue Nationale Strada Reale Kingsway Strada San Giorgio
Maintained by	Transport Malta, Valletta Local Council
Length	1.0 km (0.62 mi)
Location	Valletta, Malta
Coordinates	35.9000136°N 14.5131579°E / 35.9000136; 14.5131579
Other
Known for	City Gate, Palazzo Ferreria, Parliament of Malta, Auberge de Provence, Courts of Justice, Grandmaster's Palace

Republic Street extends from City Gate towards the granaries at Fort St. Elmo.^[1][2] 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 City Gate, Freedom Square, the Parliament of Malta, Palazzo Ferreria, Royal Opera House, the Archaeology Museum, 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 and others.

The street is managed by the Valletta Local Council as well as the Maltese government, including waste management.^[3] The street is mostly dedicated to pedestrians, with highly limited vehicle use – only commercial vehicles loading and unloading in the early morning are allowed.^[4] This also applies to general maintenance vehicles. Only karozzini^[5] and electric cabs^[6] are allowed to drive up and down the street, while taxis can cross at intersections. The Malta Police Force uses Segways to patrol the streets.^[7]

History

Kingsway, Valletta in the 1910s. Other interesting features include a little girl in a għonnella, a mobile barrel (water cart) douching the street is in the middle of the road, boaters on men, an officer wearing a light coloured uniform - possibly a policeman. On the right side, the Pohoomull Brothers' store offering 'Oriental textiles', set up in 1887; they were the predecessors of many other Indian Maltese families. The next shop toward St.Elmo is "A' La Ville de Londres". The shop windows are covered to protect the items from the sun.

After the Great Siege of Malta, Valletta was planned and built on a grid's layout by the Order of St. John, 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 Order of St. John it was known Strada San Giorgio, during the French occupation of Malta it was named Rue Nationale, during the Crown Colony of Malta it was named Strada Reale; and during the period of the further Anglicisation of Malta under Prime Minister Sir Gerald Strickland, the street was named Kingsway in 1936. The Maltese renamed the street to its current name.^[1]

Republic Street was bombed heavily in World War II 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.^[8]

In the contemporary day, Valletta is a hub of political, legislative, judiciary, commercial, business, retail and social reasons, such as fashion and music.^[9] It becomes busy during the Christmas period.^[10]

Original	Informal	French	British	British post-1926	Maltese [11]
Strada San Giorgio	Strada delle Corse	Rue Nationale	Strada Reale	Kingsway	Triq ir-Repubblika

• 
  Strada Reale in 1859
• 
  Bartoli Galea's establishment on Kingsway, 1880 (later A la ville de Londres)
• 
  The Ellis photo studio on Kingsway, ca. 1900
• 
  Kingston dispensary on Strada Reale, ca. 1900
• 
  Old Valletta Railway Station on Kingsway, ca. 1900
• 
  International Eucharistic Congress on Kingsway, 1913, by Richard Ellis
• 
  Republic Street in October 2023.

See also

• Republic Square
• Valletta
• Malta

References

1. Denaro, Victor F. (1959). "Houses in Kingsway and Old Bakery Street, Valletta". Journal of the Malta Historical Society. 2 (4). Melita historica: 204. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17.
2. Pappalardo, Salvo (2008). "Torri costiere e fortificazioni in sicilia e a malta in età moderna". In Anthony Bonanno (ed.). Malta and Sicily: Miscellaneous Research Projects (PDF) (in Italian) (2 ed.). Officina di Studi Medievali, University of Catania. p. 232. ISBN 978-88-88615-83-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
3. Allied Newspapers Ltd (2016-12-12). "Council says refuse truck in Republic Street operated without permit". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
4. "Police". Steno.webs.com. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
5. "Karozzin Ride". 101 Malta. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
6. Allied Newspapers Ltd (2007-06-15). "Valletta gets its own clean taxi service". Times of Malta. Timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
7. "District police fleet modernised with new cars, segways". The Malta Independent. Malta.
8. Malta. "History - Maltese Italian Chamber of Commerce". Micc.org.mt. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
9. "About Malta | Birzebbuga Local Council". Birzebbugalc.com. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
10. "Kuntrasti fi Triq ir-Repubblika f'temp ta' 24 siegħa". TVM. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
11. "Where the streets have four names". Times of Malta.