Pic(k) of the week 50: TA' PINU AERIAL, GOZO, MALTA

December 15, 2021

Pic(k) of the week 50: TA' PINU AERIAL, GOZO, MALTA

What initially was planned to be a short trip to the homecountry Belgium, eventually changed into a 5-day trip to the Southern Mediterranean archipelago Malta. This due to high Covid cases and mediocre weather in Central Europe.

Eighty kilometers south of Sicily and 330 km North of Libya, Malta consists of three islands: Malta, Gozo and the small island of Comino which beside one hotel, is virtually inhabited.

Although I had been multiple times to the main island of Malta before, I had never been to the island of Gozo, often referred to as what Malta used to be several decennia back.

Being a European country, one is allowed to fly drones in Malta as long as the person has an EASA Remote Pilot Aircraft certificate and of course follows local rules. For me it was one of the first times I was able to use the certificate outside Belgium. It definitively makes traveling and using a drone within Europe, a lot easier.

One of the main attractions in Gozo is Ta' Pinu; a 61m high Roman Catholic minor Basilica, built between 1922 and 1932 on a somewhat isolated site between two villages.

After having done some online research, it became clear that I wanted to make a pre-sunset aerial from an open area west of the church. I like how the Gordan Lighthouse on the left and the village of Zebbug on the right are visible in the image below. A more open aerial view can be found here.

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