The parish priest Dun Feliċ Borg sent a petition to the Grand Master, requesting that the village be elevated to the status of a city.

De Rohan died on 14 July 1797, and the people decided to build a single arch at the entrance to the city, partially fulfilling the promise they had made twenty years earlier.

The arch cost about 1000 scudi to build,[2] and funds were raised through fundraising by the population of Żebbuġ, as well as a donation by the parish church.

[3] The gate was one of the last examples of Hospitaller-era architecture in Malta, since a month after its inauguration the French invaded the islands and brought the Order's rule to an end.

In the 1950s, Freedom Avenue (Maltese: Vjal il-Ħelsien) was opened to give better access to the Żebbuġ centre, and this reduced the amount of traffic passing through the arch.