Republic Square, Valletta

[1][2] Originally the site was a square called Piazza dei Cavalieri,[5] but during the British period Governor Gaspard Le Marchant enclosed the space to create a British-access only orchard.

[5][8] The northwest part of the square consists of a large building originally known as the Casa del Commun Tesoro.

The building housed the accounts, contracts and records of the treasury of the Order of Saint John.

[9] Over the years, La Casa del Comun Tesoro also housed government offices, a hotel and a cinema.

[10] The southeast side of the square, facing the Casa del Commun Tesoro, is the National Library of Malta, commonly known as the Bibliotheca.

Republic Square Valletta Malta, 2014. Various tent-covered tables line a pathway to the front of the Bibliotheca and its statue.
The façade of the Bibliotheca and the open air cafés at Republic Square
Piazza Tesoreria without any monuments, as depicted in a watercolour by Charles de Brocktorff (before 1850)
Piazza Tesoreria as a closed orchard during the Governorship of John Le Marchant , 1858-1864; photo by Francis Frith
Piazza Tesoreria with the Vilhena statue and orchard, as depicted in a 19th century photo by Giorgio Sommer
Piazza Regina with the Queen Victoria statue , as depicted in a photochrome print from the early 1900s
Coat of arms of Valletta
Coat of arms of Valletta