What to do and see in Pietrelcina, Campania: The Best Free Things to do

Reviewed By MonicaC517 - Miami, United States

Born in Pietrelcina, this extraordinary saint (the only Catholic Priest to have received the stigmata), well deserves a 2 day visit in his hometown. "In Pietrelcina, there was Jesus and it all started there" said Padre Pio when referring to his hometown. Visiting his birthplace and other crucial streets where you can relate to his path to sainthood makes the visit worth while. A crucial walk is the one he loved the most, the road from Pietrelcina to Piana Romana, where his parents had a small house that you can visit. Walking that road (Starting from the Road of Little Madona) you leave Pietrelcina and find the so-called Rosary Walk, where Padre Pio, as Francesco Forgionne, would walk while praying the Rosary, accompanied by Mary and Jesus. It is this road that somehow fills your heart and prepares you to receive many blessings at the site in Piana Romana where Padre Pio received the first signs of the stigmata under a large Elm tree on Septembre 7th, 1910. There you will find the Chapel that keeps the preserved "Olmo". So, two days is just enough to visit the town of Pietrelcina and everything related to his life and on the second, you can follow the trail he often took to Piana Romana and visit the sacred places there where Jesus and Mary accompanied him so often.