A massive project, the result of the genius and inventiveness of the famous architect Renzo Piano. For its size is the second largest church in Italy after St. Peter’s in Rome.
With 7,000 seats and a charming courtyard decorated with fountains, icing 12 and 21 secular olive trees.
The church spirituality summarizes the functionality of a great place of worship, being designed to accommodate the pilgrims devoted to St. Pio. Built using local stone Apricena, is supported by 22 arches that create a visually interesting game plots. From the churchyard you can go directly to the crypt, a masterpiece of contemporary art created by Father Rupnik. The urn of the saint is adorned with 16 different types of stones and takes up the issue of construction of the church supported by buttresses 12 that represent the 12 apostles, each of which is adorned with seven different stones that represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The sarcophagus is made by the local artisan Raffaele Mischitelli and covered by Goudji.
Holds within it many works of art, including a crucifix by Arnaldo Pomodoro, the monumental Giuliano Vangi ambo, the tabernacle of Floriano Bodini and finally the great mosaic of the Jesuit Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, 2,000 square meters of tiles representing small parallel in the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
