7/22 This morning after breakfast we walked up into to town to the pilgrimage complex dedicated to Padre Pio that had drawn us to this site in the first place, as it has done for tens of hundreds of thousands of others. For reasons unbeknownst to us, there were few of the faithful here today, so we were free to linger in the three Churches and other monuments dedicated to the canonized saint. Three churches? Well the original church quickly proved too small once Father Pio's reputation as a healer and one blessed by God had spread beyond the region. And eventually the second church was also outgrown, and so a MUCH larger church and plaza was constructed. This latest church is completely modern, in stark contrast to the many basilicas we have explored since arriving in Italy, and yet it is strikingly beautiful and uplifting in its own way.
We spent several hours investigating the churches, memorials, artifacts and representations of the life of Father Pio, including a decent into his crypt - a word we hesitate to use because there was nothing dark or bare about this artistic and architectural homage to the saint. In a way it echoed the decorative intricacies of the many basilica we had visited, only it had been created in our lifetimes….
After completing our rounds of the sights and paying our respects, we strolled to the bus station and caught an afternoon bus to Monte Sant' Angelo - a medieval fortress town on a hill overlooking a valley drainage at its convergence with the Mediterranean.
This was an unplanned excursion made on the recommendation of our hotel host, Nikola - "You can't miss it." We hadn't realized just how close to the sea we were - yet not close enough for Joe, who lamented that he wouldn't be able to baptize himself in it from this location.
The first site that caught our eye as we entered the town - other than the fortress ruins above us, was a church perched on the edge of the cliffside overlooking the valley. And as at EACH church we have entered on this trip, we were once again awed by the unique nature of the structure and its contents. We descended a broad stairway beneath a high arched ceiling of white limestone, which then turned back into the mountain. We proceeded until we came to an underground chapel, half carved out of the rock. It turns out that this too is a pilgrimage site, only people have been visiting here for 1500 years instead of only fifty as at San Giovanni. The chapel was built after St. Michael the Archangel made several appearances and blessed the site. St. Francis of Assisi himself had visited the chapel in the 1200's. Coincidently, St Francis was the first Catholic to have the stigmata and was cherished by Father Pio.
From the Saint Michael Shrine, we proceeded up the hill and across the dry moat to tour the medieval fortress - originally built to protect the shrine from the threat of infidels from across the sea. The castle has gone through several expansions over the centuries - which is hard to imagine as it is not that large - and yet it had the features you would hope to find in your first visit to a castle - the moat, battlements, dungeons (Lyn was incensed to learn that some lord had imprisoned a wayward wife in one), a great hall, and a maze of passageways - cool and dark.
After the castle we had just a short time to get a feel for the narrow streets of a medieval town, with its even narrower alleyways - another maze beckoning for exploration that will have to wait as we needed to catch the last bus back to San Giovanni and our hotel.
Once back in town, we found a local Restoranti and proceeded to enjoy a three-course traditional Italian meal while sitting on a veranda and enjoying the street scene of pedestrian and motor traffic. A most satisfying ending to a most satisfying day…
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