Padre Pio and St. Michael the Archangel Private Tour from Rome
Description
San Giovanni Rotondo is famous all over the world as the native city of St. Pio (known as Padre Pio) of Pietrelcina and as the city where the venerated monk worked his miracles. Pio was beatified in 2002. In the Capuchin Monastery, Padre Pio received the stigmata in 1918, and there were all those supernatural events that led to his sainthood and canonization that took place as well. It is a destination that the devout and tourists alike should make every effort to visit. The Church’s crypt also hosted, up until a few years ago, the tomb of St. Pio. The Sanctuary of the Archangel Michael, or San Michele, in the grotto dates from the 5th-6th centuries and is the site where devotion to the Archangel Michael began. The original grotto of San Michele is said to have been consecrated by the archangel and is the only church not consecrated by human hands.
Tour Options
Itinerary
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.
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.
San Michele Pilgrimage Shrine consists of the original Sanctuary of the Archangel Michael in a grotto and the crypt and devotional museums. To find the shrine as the octagonal bell tower, built in the 13th century, rises above the town of Monte Sant' Angelo on Puglia's Gargano Promontory. From the small square by the bell tower, pilgrims and tourists pass through the Gothic arches of San Michele. Descending the long stone staircase constructed in the 13th century (or elevator for the disabled), visitors arrive in the nave with frescoes and murals. On the Bronze doors, made in 1076 in Constantinople, are 24 panels depicting Bible scenes. The doors lead to the cave of Saint Michael. The Sanctuary of the Archangel Michael, or San Michele, in the grotto dates from the 5th - 6th centuries and is the site where devotion to the Archangel Michael began. The original grotto of San Michele is said to have been consecrated by the archangel and is the only church not consecrated by human hands.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up at 6:30am at your accomodation (hotel, B&B, apartment). Please confirm us the pick up address. N.B.: If your accomodation is not in the area indicated on the above map, send us a message to arrange your pick up.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Dress code required: knees and shoulders must be covered
- Wheelchair available on request. Please advise at time of booking if wheelchair assistance is required
- Please advice any specific dietary requirements or allergies at time of booking
Reviews(20)
I took my mom to her first trip to visit Padre Pio, it was just the two of us. We werre picked up by our tour guide and driver at our hotel and the ride was 3 hours from Rome. We even requested for wheelchair which helped a lot for my mom’s mobility issues. Included was a visit to the site St. Michael appeared as well as lunch. Very pleased with this tour and well worth the experience.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! We’re really proud of our staff! -Francesco
Francesco and Luigi made the trip enjoyable and comfortable for our family of 4. I highly recommend this trip, amazing sites to see, especially for Catholics. Once in a lifetime opportunity.
We’re so happy to know you and your family enjoyed the tour with Francesco and Luigi! Thank you for your lovely feedback — it’s always our goal to make each trip comfortable, inspiring, and unforgettable. We hope to see you again soon for another meaningful experience!
Padre Pio was so amazing slight it’s worth doing. Francisco and Luigi are very excellent and informative during the tour . I can recommend them to the next tour very respectfull and descent.
We sincerely appreciate you sharing your experience. We are so pleased that you enjoyed the visit and that Francesco and Luigi made the tour both interesting and enjoyable. It is truly rewarding to know that you would recommend our services, and we look forward to welcoming you again soon on another unique experience!
Our trip to Padre Pio and Saint Michael Sanctuaries (May 29, 2025) was very blessed and awesome. Our tour guide Luisa was great . To Luisa , thank you for being our guide today. We enjoyed our tour very much especially from one who practices the same Catholic faith as we do. I'll send more pictures. Please extend to Florian our gratitude for his expert and safe driving. We also appreciate the lunch arrangements you did. Loved it🙏 Heluise, Jocelyn & Socorro
Thank you so much for your 5-star review! We’re thrilled you enjoyed the tour — it means a lot to our whole team. We hope to welcome you again on a new adventure soon!
This was a trip we took as a couple, and it was a fantastic experience. If you're looking for a personalized and memorable outing, this is a great option. The drive from Rome takes about 3–4 hours, making it a full-day excursion from early morning until night. However, the time passed quickly thanks to the warm and welcoming atmosphere created by our driver and guide. The car was very comfortable, and the guide provided excellent explanations of the sites we visited. They were always attentive to our questions and made sure we felt informed and cared for throughout the day. It was definitely worth the investment. Special thanks to Maria Luisa, our knowledgeable and friendly guide, and to Luigi, our professional and courteous driver. We were very pleased with the entire experience.
We really appreciate your 5-star review—thanks for the support! We’re so glad you enjoyed your experience with us.
We have the most wonderful and spiritual time on San Giovanni Rotondo. Our tour guide Francesco brought the perfect combination of spiritual knowledge ( we are Catholic Pilgrims in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee ) and the prudence / deference to understand we needed time to pray without jeopardizing the tour pace and sharing very valuable information so we can deeply understand the historical and spiritual aspects of Padre Pío plus the stop at the wonderful Archangel Michael’s Groto. It’s a must tour if you are visiting Italy on spiritual journey/pilgrimage. Very nice drive from Rome to San Giovanni Rotondo and back with enough time to have a great capuccino.
We truly appreciate your kind words and 5-star rating. It means a lot to our team!
Amazing! Francesco and Luigi were outstanding and made the experience memorable. The trip from Rome to S.G. Rotondo and back was very relaxed and comfortable. Francesco was a wealth of knowledge on Padre Pio and let us explore at our own place. We explored, experienced and learned way more than expected all while embracing the religious importance of Padre Pio. So glad we went on this tour and would highly recommend.
Thank you so much for this wonderful review! Hope to see you again sometime!
It was spiritual journey, we had enough time to go around town, attend a mass, eat lunch. timing was perfect for the mass. there were arranged time for rest stops for bathroom breaks. we felt safe with the driving of Luigi. And Francesco M was our guide, he was informative and sensitive to the needs of my Aunt. we used a lift when available. Thank you for your kind attention. Will be glad to recommend the trip.
Thank you so much for taking your time to write this review for us and our community, we’re so glad your experience with us was pleasant. Hope to see you again!
Maria was an amazing companion and leader to our trip. She is so patient and sympathetic to my beliefs (and hers), respectful and accommodating us was just incredible. The driver and Maria were so knowledgeable and friendly too.
Thank you so much for your review, it was a pleasure being a part of your tour; we hope to be part of your future experiences.
It was dream come true for my husband who developed a devotion for Padre Pio last year. It’s a long ride from but it was well worth it and I don’t think we would have appreciated visiting Pietrelcina if we just took an Uber to go there and back. We thank God for our tour leader Sabrina who took us to the different chapels in Pietrelcina and this included leading our family of 5 down a beautiful hallway with mosaic walls built and gifted by Filipinos some years back because of their devotion to Padre Pio. The right wall showed mosaic images of the life of Christ while the left wall had mosaic images of the life of St. Francis of Assisi. The day before the tour, we asked if we could hear Mass in Pietrelcina as it was going to be a Sunday. Viator accommodated our request and Sabrina timed it so that we could still find seats for the 11:30am mass. She brought us to Padre Pio’s crypt after (it could’ve been before the Mass when there were less people at the crypt, but I’m glad she made a judgment call to do this after the mass so our family could be seated for Mass. I told Sabrina if there was an opportunity, if we could hear confession too. She tried in Pietrelcina but there was none. Part of the tour was having lunch which our family enioyed. Other than Pietrelcina, the tour includes going to the Saint Michael the Archangel chapel/sanctuary. Didn’t expect this special walk down to a chapel/cave. And Sabrina was able to help us find a place where there were was an English priest-confessor. ❤️ I wish Sabrina could have spoken more about Padre Pio but that’s on me because I didn’t ask more about him. More than anything, I am grateful that it was Sabrina who was our tour leader because I really felt her faith and she was not shy about sharing this with us and emphasizing about faith and God’s love. Florian our driver got us sooner to the various destinations efficiently and safely. He was kind to interact with too. This made our trip to Italy both memorable and meaningful. Perfect for our family Jubilee pilgrimage. My only feedback for consideration of Viator is to fix the Viator app because when it asked me to choose a certain currency (INR) to avail of my points (to give me a discount for my succeeding ordered trips), I couldn’t select the currency on the app. Even Arif, our tour leader for our Pisa trip tried to help but even if we tried restarting the app and my phone, it didn’t work so I wasn’t able to avail of my earned points. Hope other customers don’t have the same concern.
Thank you so, so much for having taken your time to write this lovely review for us, we really appreciate it and we hope you will choose us again the the future!
