The shape of the old Italian village strangely resembles the silhouette of a man.
Centuripe, a small town on the island of Sicily, was photographed from the air with a drone which showed its five-pointed shape.
The photographer stitched together multiple images to fully reveal the outlines of the city, which looks a lot like a man with outstretched arms.
Aerial photographs show four longer sections radiating in different directions – for example, the limbs – and a fifth, shorter section that makes up the “head”.
Andrea Peri, a 32-year-old resident of Pio, first discovered the humanoid shape of the city by looking at it on Google Earth.
Not believing his eyes, he raised his drone as high as possible above Centuripe, and began to take pictures.
Centuripe, a small town on the island of Sicily, was photographed from the air with a drone, showing its five-pointed shape (pictured)
“It was difficult to create,” he said. “I had to use multiple shots due to the height limitation of the drone.”
The shape of the city has been compared to many things, including a man, a five-pointed star, a swallow with outstretched wings, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
But when Pio posted the images on his Instagram page, some users couldn’t believe their eyes and even accused the photographer of faking the snaps.
“The whole world was in disbelief at the bizarre shape of this city, many didn’t believe it was true, and they thought I had drawn a picture in the program.
But when they realized the truth by searching Google Earth, many of them personally apologized for their comments.
“I’m proud of the photos and happy with my results. I am self-taught and I have great confidence in what I do,” said the photographer.
Avant de prendre les photos, Pio a soigneusement inspecté la zone pour s’assurer que des vents forts ne l’empêchaient pas de prendre la photo parfaite.
The ancient city of Centuripe, with a population of only around 5,000 people, is located on a hill in the province of Enna, near Mount Etna.
Recently, the city’s mayor invited photographer Pio to hold an exhibition of his incredible photographs after the images left netizens confused and perplexed.
Pio added: “It was difficult to create and I had to use multiple shots due to the height limitation of the drone.
“I layered about 18 shots by hand in post and it took me two hours to edit, I’m very happy with the result.”
Centuripe a été construit sur une colline à environ 730 mètres d’altitude, ce qui lui confère une position défensive à mi-chemin entre Catane et Enna.
The town was built in the 16th century and is known for its picturesque streets used for transporting animals.
It is divided into transverse sectors with narrow streets and winding steps descending into a valley separating terraced multi-storey houses.
From the top of the city, the famous Mount Etna is visible in the distance and offers views of the surrounding countryside.
Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi called Centuripe “the balcony of Sicily” due to its elevated position.