A model of the statue of Grandmaster La Valette, which will be erected in Valletta, was revealed today.

The 700 kilogramme bronze statue, the work of sculptor Joseph Chetcuti, will be 2.5m high and will be placed in the new St Catherine Square, nearly opposite the plaque marking the foundation stone of Valletta. It will be part of the City Gate project.

The statue will show Grandmaster La Valette holding Valletta's plan in his right hand and a sword in his left.

The model was unveiled as Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt signed the deed whereby Lombard Bank agreed to fund the work. The clay form on which the bronze statue will then be modelled should be finished in the next two months. The bronze work should be done by March.

It will be the first statue of La Valette, the founder of the Capital, since his statue on Porta Reale was damaged during the war and later removed.

Dr Gatt said the process to have the statue was embarked upon a year-and-a-half ago. The likeness he said, was taken from an image on La Valette's tomb at St John's Co-Cathedral.