Saint Michael's Cave, Gargano, Puglia, Italy

This place is one of my favourite sites on the planet. It is a beautiful little town named Gargano on the top of a mountain in Puglia, a place in Southern Italy renowned for its good food. One can get there flying into either Bari or Pescara airports, which are both equally far from the town. Most people in the know go to Gargano from San Giovanni Rotondo. This place was a pilgrimage haunt of Padre Pio, as well as Saint Francis, Saint Lucy, and several others. The story goes that in the late 500^th century, Saint Michael appeared on this hill by the cave and asked the bishop to build a church nearby where people could worship God, and he granted his protection from invaders. The church was built, and Saint Michael protected the people and appeared three times, and when the bishop asked if the saint would like him to consecrate the cave in his honour, Saint Michael replied that he himself had consecrated the cave and that no evil shall enter it.

The cave is quite small and is a church, with an otherworldly small statue of Saint Michael by the altar. To get there one needs to walk down several hundreds of steps and the feeling and smell of the air is a clear and ancient one. It is beautiful inside and out. There is a separate chapel in the cave where confessions are constantly heard, and an air of sacredness to the place. Most visitors including myself stay at the Casa dei Pellegrini conveniently located adjacent to the cave, from which one can take a lift right into the shrine.

Side view of the church and entrance to the cave

Entrance says this is a holy place and is the gate to heaven

Inside the cave after Mass

Statue of Saint Michael by the altar

View from top of Monte Sant'Angelo

Also home to the world's best cup of hot chocolate

Cave entrance

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Padre Pio - San Giovanni Rotondo 2010

Padre Pio's town, San Giovanni Rotondo, Puglia, Southern Italy.

I am a fan of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina so have been here several times. The site has changed a lot since the early 2000's, it used to just be the original parish with Padre Pio's tomb in a room below, where devotees would kneel around the tomb, place roses and petitions through a grill, and have a chance to quietly reflect. Now it has grown into the huge Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church large enough to house 36,500 people, with a golden room housing the saint's tomb, where you are ushered in a queue past the crack in the wall from where you can see the silver casket. I personally prefer what it was like before, however, it is a frequently visited pilgrimage site, and is still holy ground where Padre Pio once lived, celebrated masses, opened a hospital, and is now buried. 

In the town I have met a few older locals who used to personally know him, the devotion to him there and in Italy in general is incredible. The lady whose hotel I always stay in used to know the saint when she was a little girl, and he predicted that she would open a hotel for when his friends come to visit.

One can see the original parish, the new basilica, the museum of his personal items, and do the stations of the cross in one or two days. Heading up to nearby  Monte Sant'Angelo is a must. I will go into that next, suffice to say it is a favourite pilgrimage site for Padre Pio himself.

The Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church

Saint Padre Pio's Tomb

The viewing spot in the wall where the tomb is

One of the many mosaics of the saint in the church