The village of Pietrelcina

About this activity

Pietrelcina is a small town in the province of Benevento, located on a hill near the river Tammaro. The name Pietrelcina comes from Pietrapulcina, which apparently means Small Stone, compared to the neighboring town on the other side of the river that is called Petra majuri.

Why visit Pietrelcina

Pietrelcina is well known as the birthplace of Francesco Forgione, better known as Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who made this small town an important center of religious tourism. Here, in fact, it is possible to visit the saint's birthplace house, at number 27 Vico Storto Valle, but also other magnificent religious architecture such as the Church of St. Anne, the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, the Convent of the Capuchin Fathers and Padre Pio Museum, the Church of the Holy Family, and the Chapel of St. Francis in Piana Romana.

Padre Pio's Birthplace

This modest dwelling has now become a small museum: a bedside table and a wrought-iron twin bed remind us of where Padre Pio was born and lived. The room is lit by a large window, there is a worn washstand, an old chest, and a table covered with a faded rug on which the saint's childhood books are piled.

There is also a trapdoor in the house that served as a storage room and stable for the father's donkey. Moving to house number 28, the kitchen and children's bedroom later used as a dining room can also still be seen.

Nearby we also find the Turret, a small room in which Francis lived between 1909 and 1912 isolated from the convent due to health problems.

The Church of St. Anne

A religious building dating back to the 13th century, the Church of St. Anne is built on the highest point of the Castello district. The altar is decorated with a 17th-century canvas depicting the Madonna of Loreto, while in the nave we find 18th-century statues of the Assumption, the Crowned Virgin and Saint Rose. Here we also find the altar dedicated to St. Anne where the relics of St. Pius are kept. Here Francis was baptized and celebrated Holy Mass.

The history of Pietrelcina

The small village in Norman times belonged to the counts of Ariano. In 1138 it was devastated by the Norman king Roger II of Sicily, then passed to Bartolomeo Camerario, the Caracciolos, the D'Aquinos and the Carafas until 1806. Pietrelcina was unfortunately hit by an earthquake in 1456 and June 5, 1688, and then by a cholera epidemic in 1854. Until 1861 it was part of the district of Ariano, then it was annexed to the province of Benevento.

Curiosity about Pietrelcina

Pietrelcina is closely linked to the figure of Padre Pio, who made this place known all over the world. He was born on May 25, 1887, into a very religious family, in fact he was called Francis since his mother was very devoted to St. Francis of Assisi. Only at the age of twelve did he begin to study regularly guided by the priest Domenico Tizzani.

From a young age he manifested a desire to consecrate his life to the Lord, and on August 10, 1910, he was ordained a priest in Benevento Cathedral. He passed through several convents before coming to San Giovanni Rotondo in Apulia, where he later died on Sept. 23, 1968, which then became a symbolic place of the saint, where his remains are kept.