page_title: Mdina Gate
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Mdina Gate / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Main Gate in Mdina, Malta
context_page_description: Mdina Gate, also known as the Main Gate or the Vilhena Gate, is the main gate into the fortified city of Mdina, Malta. It was built in the Baroque style in 1724 to designs of Charles François de Mondion, during the magistracy of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena.
context_section_description: The Mdina Gate consists of a Baroque portal and a superstructure serving as a gatehouse. The portal is decorated with double pilasters, the coats of arms of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena and the city of Mdina, a trophy of arms and a Latin inscription reading:
  The rear of the gate is decorated with reliefs of St. Publius, St. Agatha and St. Paul, who are the patron saints of Malta.
  An arched stone bridge, which is decorated by statues of lions holding the coat of arms of Vilhena or the town of Rabat, leads to the gate. A wooden à la Vauban drawbridge originally linked the bridge to the gate.
caption: Inscription and Vilhena's coat of arms
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