Gates

Information

In the Great Port, there were five gates:
1. St Catherine’s gate led to the ancient mole of the windmills.
2.The impressive Marine Gate, surrounded by two cylindrical towers and a relief of the Virgin and Child, with St John the Baptist and St Paul on either side, depicted above the arch, together with the heraldic coats of arms of the Order of St John, the royal house of France and great master Pierre d’ Aubusson, dated 1478.
3. Arnauld’s Gate, named after a paraphrase of the latin “arnaldi”, name for the Order recruits, while entering the city from that same gate.
4. Arsenal Gate, surrounded by two square towers, in length and height suggesting the existence of dockyards, with ships getting in and out of the gate, in antiquity as well as in the medieval era. In the ottoman period the gate was closed, to be reopened during the Italian occupation.
5. St Paul’s gate protected the passage towards the war port (Mandraki port). Based on the coats-of-arms of Pope Sixtus IV and Grand Master Pierre D’ Aubusson, incorporated above the gate, the construction phase of the tower could be dated during 1476-84, although the resemblance to St Peter Tower, constructed under Grand Master P. R. Zacosta, may date the monument during 1461-67.
In the south-east section of the city, towards the inner island, there were four gates with arched bridges crossing the moat:
1. D’ Amboise gate named after the great magister, with an inner gate of St Antony, towards the Palace.
2. St George’s rampart gate, nowadays sealed and without the bridge.
3. St Athanasius’ gate, from which Suleiman the Great, conqueror of Rhodes entered the city, in 1522. The gate was then sealed and reopened during the Italian occupation.
4. St John’s gate, known also as Red gate, from which general Ameglio, head of the Italian army, entered the city in 1912.
During the Italian occupation, three new gates were constructed – Liberty Gate towards the north and Virgin Mary and Acandia gates towards the south.