Naples represents the starting point but also the end of the tour , because there will be 2 hours of driving time to get in San Giovanni Rotondo, and then 2 hours to come back from San Giovanni Rotondo to your accomodation

The Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo is a famous religious site closely associated with Saint Padre Pio, who lived there for many years. Founded in the 16th century, it is home to the Capuchin friars and welcomes millions of pilgrims every year. It is a place of prayer, faith, and spiritual reflection.

Originally built in 1540, the Capuchin Monastery is the site where the Saint lived from September, 1916 until his death in September 1968. It was here that Pio received the stigmata in 1918, and where all those supernatural events that led to his sainthood and canonization took place as well. Visiting this Monastery and viewing the chambers where St. Pio conducted his life means jumping into a context of spirituality and mysticism; it is a destination that the devout and tourists alike should make every effort to visit.

After the death of Padre Pio, the Saint’s friars thought of constructing a new church, because too sensitive to the material and spiritual needs of the devotees, that the existing church could not contain. After the presentation of several projects, Friars entrusted the design of a new church to the architect Renzo Piano, so that it could accommodate 6,500 people. For its size it is the second largest church in Italy, after St. Peter's Church in Rome. Long dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, the new Sanctuary conceived by Renzo Piano occupies – with its enormous conch-shell structure - and represents the second-largest church in Italy after Milan's Duomo. Finally opened after ten years of construction, and also known as the Church of St. Pio, the new Sanctuary was almost entirely financed by the offerings of pilgrims. Today it can hold up to 6,500 people at once.