About the town of Pietrelcina, its history and notable places of interest
Our four sons were all born in England and, when they were young, enjoyed the yearly fall of snow every winter. When we moved to Malta, they missed that one thing.
So, when our son Tom, who is involved in filming in his work, stayed with us for a few months here in Pietrelcina, he decided to make a video diary of the snow. Here it is.
Riella – Pietrelcina Relaxing
This route takes us firstly to Riella, the area which joins on to the Castello and is one of the older parts of Pietrelcina.
Down this road is the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of The Immaculate who help to look after the Parish Church.
This video also looks at the various restaurants and houses in this area and then moves back up to the main square, turning once again and going down ‘Corso Di Padre Pio’
It is this street that is used for the stalls and attractions which are set up for the annual festa of Our Lady of Liberty which takes place at the beginning of August.
The video finishes at a popular meeting place next to the main square.
If you are in Pietrelcina and looking for the actual home where Padre Pio was born. Here are the directions to find it. Using the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Angels as the starting point, continue on through the narrow stone street in front of you and you will arrive at a fork in the road. There are now two choices; steps going down (this will bring you to the Rosary Walk) and steps going up. Choose the steps going up. This brings you to one of the oldest parts of the town called ‘The Castello’ region.
Here you will will find his original neighbourhood and birth place. This is where Padre Pio was born and where he grew up. It is no wonder that most pilgrims visit this area as soon as they arrive in Pietrelcina. Although there is an information center located right next to the house of his birth, it is not always open and you will find that much of the material can be found in shop inside the Parish Church itself.
One thing I need to point out here. Yes, it is true that many of the pilgrims come to Pietrelcina specifically to see the house where Padre Pio was born and frequent tourists do go through the the Castello region for some periods during the day. However, this is still a residential area and when all the visitors have gone, it reverts back to its old self, a genuine old Italian village/town. The best visits we have made here have been in the dead of night or late in the afternoon when no one is around.
Still, anytime is good and well worth a visit. The following is a collection of photos we took during the first few years of being in Pietrelcina. The music is from singing that was recorded in the parish church and from an outdoor service in town.
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