st
# 68 • SEPTEMBER 21 , 2015
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.
Next to the Monastery rises the Church
of Santa Maria delle Grazie, originally dedicated to Santa Maria degli Angeli, consecrated in 1629. Inaugurated in 1959,
thanks to the perseverance and passion
of Pio, the old Sanctuary welcomed the
thousands of faithful and pilgrims that
arrived in droves everyday. They came to
this small Apulian village to see the places where the Saint lived out his faith, up
until the realization of the new Church.
The Church’s crypt also hosted, up until
a few years ago, the tomb of St. Pio, now
found inside the crypt of the new adjacent complex.
Long dedicated to Santa Maria delle
Grazie, the new Sanctuary conceived
by Renzo Piano occupies – with its enormous conch-shell structure – approximately 6,000 sq.m. (64, 584 sq. ft.) and
represents the second-largest church in
Italy after Milan’s Duomo. Finally opened
after ten years of construction, and also
28 | WE THE ITALIANS
www.wetheitalians.com
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.
By the request of Pio, the Church, whose walls are composed of stone from
Apricena, was to be used as a place
of welcome for the faithful: the external churchyard, in fact, features details
and characteristics that repeat on the
church’s interior – corresponding floor designs were planned to emphasize
harmony between the exterior and interior. This choice is also evident in the
separation of the two environments by
a stained-glass window decorated with
scenes from the Apocalypse. On the
Church’s subterranean level is located a
lower church (similarly to the Basilica of
St. Francis of Assisi) where the remains
of the Saint reside. The roof, of oxidized
copper, confers to the structure its characteristic green color.
This profound mixture of historic, religious and architectonic elements render
the Sanctuaries of Padre Pio an indubitable point of interest for all, including
those who are not particularly devout, or
who may not profess any faith at all.