San Giovanni Rotondo Travel Guide  

San Giovanni Rotondo is home to the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church, the second most sacred Catholic shrine in the world. The city and commune are located in the province of Foggia, Puglia, 180 miles east of Rome and 120 miles north of Naples in Italy.
The city’s name is derived from an ancient circular baptistery and is built over a ruined temple of Jupiter. Post the Second World War, the town became renowned as a pilgrimage to honor of Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.  A church named after the priest is a tourist hotspot.
San Giovanni Rotondo is renowned for his important hospital and medical research center Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza founded by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.
The economy of the town with a population of more than 26000 is driven by agriculture along with the mining in the bauxite mines in the area.