A statue of Jean de La Valette, the grandmaster who founded Valletta, is to be installed in Valletta.

The statue is to be donated by Lombard Bank.

A deed of gift will be signed tomorrow by Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, when a bozzetto of the statue will be revealed.

The original plans of the recently demolished City Gate had included the possibility of a statue to the grandmaster whose name the city bears, but it never came about.

The previous Gate, Porta Reale, had features statues of Grandmasters de la Valette and L-Isle Adam, but they were damaged during the war. It also had a  statue of Pope Pius V, who financed the building of the new city. The statue is now in a corner of Great Siege Square.

Valletta local council some five years ago had adopted a motion to erect a statue of La Valette, but was unable to source funds for the project.

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