Guide to San Giovanni Rotondo

 Your travel guide - Giampaolo 

My San Giovanni

Looking at modern day San Giovanni, it is difficult to imagine the quiet village of Gargano that existed at the beginning of the last century, when Padre Pio first came here. Today the entire city is centred around the local priest with the stigmata, and every day of the year, pilgrims and tourists from around the world arrive to pay their respects to him. Dominant in the town is the  ‘House of Relief of Suffering’,  a hospital built by the priest that today provides the latest treatments that medical science can offer a combination of faith and science to cure both the soul and the body

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  Events

What to see and do

1. The Padre Pio shrine and coffin
2. The Church of Renzo Piano
3. The small church in which Padre Pio preached
4. The Convent of the Cappuccini Priests where Padre Pio lived, and its museum
5. The Via Crucis
6. The House of Relief from Suffering Hospital
7. The Waxwork Museum
8. The Crucifix of the Stigmata
9. St Orsola Church
10. A Trip to St. Angelo Mountain

July to September

The entire cultural calendar in San Giovanni Rotondo revolves around Padre Pio. July 28th is the Giornata del Ringraziamento  (Day of Thanksgiving) which commemorates his arrival to the town to start his work in 1916.  From the 8-10th September, there is also a festival to honour the town’s Patron Saint, the Madonna delle Grazie, with her death commemorated on 23rd September.

 Food and Drink

Local Products
The local cuisine is very typical of the area around Gargano, based on the surrounding mountainous terrain that enjoys a Mediterranean climate and a proximity to the sea. The extra virgin olive oil that is produced here is of a very high quality, as is the cheese made from the milk of the Podolico cows who enjoy a free-range lifestyle producing milk that is full of flavour and healthy nutrients.

From the nearby St. Angelo Mountain comes a delicious filled wafer biscuit, made of two sheets of wafer bread placed either side of a layer of honey and almonds.  Also try the local bread made with Gargano durum wheat flour.

Local Wines
Even if San Giovanni Rotondo does not produce its own wines, it is possible to enjoy good local wines from the surrounding area including Cacc’e Mmitte di Lucera and San Severo.doc

 Giampaolo 's spotlight on Padre Pio

So just who is this famous priest – Padre Pio?  After finishing his training, he arrived here in 1916 to start his work, and stayed until his death in 1968.  He became known as a bit of a mystic and is reported to have supernatural abilities, including the ability to heal the sick, predict the future and be able to read souls. His work amongst the town’s poor and sick was legendary, resulting in state-of-the-art hospital which still stands in the town today.
He is also believed to have been blessed with the 5 wounds of the stigmata which he received one day whilst praying before a cross. This was believed to be a gift from Christ, and caused him pain and bleeding for the rest of his life, a state that he believed brought him closer to God. 
The San Pio da Pietralcina, (Saint Pio Pilgrimage Church) designed by Renzo Piano, opened in 2004 to cope with the number of visitors who come here to pay their respects.  It has a striking modern design and can accommodate 6500 seated worshippers with a standing area for another 30,000 outside. 

Padre Pio died in 1968, and was canonised in 2002.  Eventually he was exhumed in 2008, and you can now visit his remains in the shrine dedicated to him.