During this flight, we will visit some of the POI included in the Simulator World Update for Italy and Malta.

We depart from Naples International Airport (LIRN) and start a tour around the city.

Naples is Italy’s third-largest city (after Rome and Milan) and is one of the world's oldest, continuously inhabited urban areas.  The city has many attractions, some of the most famous are the Roman ruins of Pompeji and Herculaneum, a couple of miles southeast of the city, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. These cities were destroyed 79 AD when Mout Vesuvius erupted.

After take-off, we turn south and visit three castles, a museum, and a palace, overfly the city,  and head for Mount Vesuvius.

 

We then turn north and look for the Castel Montforte, on a hill in the village of Campobasso. Next is a turn towards the east and a landing at Gino Lisa (LIBF). The next POI is Castel del Monte.

Castel del Monte is a 13th-century citadel and castle. It was built during the 1240s by King Frederick II. Because of its relatively small size, it was once considered to be no more than a "hunting lodge", but scholars now believe it originally had a curtain wall and did serve as a citadel. Frederick was responsible for the construction of many castles in Apulia, but Castel del Monte's geometric design was unique. The fortress is an octagonal prism with an octagonal tower at each corner. The towers were originally some 5 m higher than now, and they should perhaps include a third floor. Both floors have eight rooms and an eight-sided courtyard occupies the castle's center. Each of the main rooms has vaulted ceilings. Three of the corner towers contain staircases. The castle has two entrances, an unobtrusive service entrance, and an ornate main entrance. Frederick's main entrance featured elements from the classical design. In the 18th century, the castle's interior marbles and remaining furnishings were removed.

Our next landings are at Palese Macchie (LIBD) and the Italian Air Force Base Gioia del Colle (LIBV).

Now we head southwest to get back to the coast. On the way, we land at Enrico Mattei (LIQY). At the coast, we visit the Statua del Cristo Redentore.

The statue was made with a special mixture of cement mixed with flakes of Seravezza marble by Florentine artist Bruno Innocenti between 1963 and 1965. It is 21.13 meters high. On the rocky summit of Mount San Biagio stand the ruins of Maratea Castello, now uninhabited. In 1806 the fortified citadel was attacked by a contingent of four thousand five hundred French soldiers, and in 1907 it was decided to commemorate the event by erecting a wrought-iron cross, placed on the highest point of the mountain. This cross was then continuously restored whenever lightning struck it down. Count Stefano Rivetti of Val Cervo, from Biella, conceived the idea of replacing the memorial cross with a large monument to Christ the Redeemer, and he made his intentions clear in a letter addressed to the city council on September 5, 1961. The Maratea city council approved its construction, subject to the dismantling and preservation of the cross (initiated in September 1963), which was rebuilt on another site.

A turn back inland leads us to a bridge in the mountains and then we head back and land at Scalea (LIMB). We head towards the Ionian Sea and visit another bridge before landing at Crotone (LIBC).  About 6 miles south is the Fortezza Aragonese and after an overflight, we head west, visit another bridge, and land at Terme (LICA). Before we land at Fontanarossa (LICC) we visit the Santuario di Santa Maria.

The shrine stands on the rock of the same name. The island rock was likely inhabited, around the 7th-8th centuries, by hermits. They isolated themselves from the civilized world and were devoted to a contemplative and ascetic life. Following the earthquakes of 1783 and 1905, little of the original structure is preserved. The staircase that one travels up to reach it was built around 1810.

Next is another bridge, and the Statua della Madonna della Lettera at Messina. Further south we overfly the city of Syracuse and visit the Castello Maniace before heading west again. We land at Comiso (LICB) and then head towards Malta.

The Republic of Malta belongs to the European Union and consists of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily and 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia.  The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language.

Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the center of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others.

With a population of about 516,000 over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country in area and the fourth-most densely populated sovereign country. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area and population.

We arrive at the small island of Gozo and head continue towards the northwestern tip of Malta. Here we visit a couple of points of interest. We see the Red Tower, a church, and several Castles in Valetta, Malta’s capital city. Finally, we cross the island, visit two more churches, the Cliffs of Dingli and finish the flight at Luqa (LMML), Maltas International Airport.

Documentation:

Flightplan can be downloaded here.

Aircraft:

The flight has 662 miles with 9 landings. We want to cruise with about 250 ktas. The TBM930 and the CJ4 can do that if flown a bit higher. Any of the small subsonic jets would be suitable as well. There is some climbing required and some of the POI are very close together. I will probably be in the JustFlight Hawk. As always, please fly what you like.

Additional scenery:

There are three addons available for this flight. We landed at Comiso before, you might have downloaded this addon already.

Scalea: https://flightsim.to/file/6239/aviosuperficie-scalea

Terme: https://flightsim.to/file/13601/lamezia-terme

Comiso: https://flightsim.to/file/5956/licb-aeroporto-di-comiso-magliocco

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 11:00 pm local.
We typically prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, July 16, 2022. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!