Ta' Pinu Basilica

Ta' Pinu stands alone in the fields of western Gozo, a large Romanesque-revival church of local stone built between 1920 and 1931 around the older chapel where, in 1883, a woman named Carmela Grima reported hearing the Virgin call to her. Pilgrims began coming, and the shrine has been the focus of Gozitan devotion since. A corridor of ex-voto offerings, letters, crutches and photographs left in thanks, runs beside the sanctuary.

What you actually see

• The ex-voto corridor - walls of offerings, letters and crutches left by pilgrims.
• The original chapel - the older wayside chapel kept inside the newer building.
• The stone interior - the church built entirely of Gozitan limestone.
• The isolated setting - a large basilica standing alone in open fields.

When to go

Year round; the church keeps daily hours and closes during services. Major Marian feasts bring pilgrimages. Mornings are quietest.

Honest expectations

The building is twentieth century and of no great architectural interest; the significance is devotional. It stands isolated and there is little else nearby. Coach groups arrive in batches.

Nearby

Gharb is nearby, and Dwejra is southwest.