San Giovanni Rotondo

San Giovanni Rotondo is one of the comunes (municipalities) that form part of the Gargano National Park. It is located in the province of Foggia and has around 29,000 inhabitants. As regards the history of San Giovanni Rotondo, it is important to remember that the town rises on the ruins of a round (“rotondo” in Italian) baptistery and played a significant economic role under the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, or during the Italian Risorgimento (Unification), when 24 patriots were executed by their fellow townsmen stirred by the Bourbons. But the most important fact in its history is that it was the home city of Padre Pio da Pietrelcina from 1916 until he died in 1968. San Giovanni Rotondo has a long religious tradition mainly due to the fact that Padre Pio lived here. In fact, during the first half of the 20th century the city's economy centred on farming and agriculture. Nowadays, and due to the religious tourism connected with Padre Pio and “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza” (Home for the Relief of the Suffering) Hospital, the economy centres now on the advanced service sector, turning San Giovanni Rotondo into one of the most important cities in Puglia from the economic point of view. You can visit a countless number of churches in San Giovanni Rotondo: Sant’Egidio Church (where ancient archaeological evidence was found), Padre Pio Church, designed by Renzo Piano, and Sant’Orsola Church, one of the oldest in the city.