Monumental Way of the Cross

On the southern slope of Monte Castellana, beside the Capuchin friary, the monumental Way of the Cross climbs through the pines of the Parco del Buon Pastore. Fourteen stations along a path that looks out over the town and the plain.

The foundation stone was laid on 22 September 1968, and Padre Pio blessed it. It was one of the last acts of his life: he died that night, a few hours later. The way of the Passion he had wanted began on the day his own ended.

The work is by Francesco Messina, a Sicilian, one of the foremost Italian sculptors of the twentieth century. He worked on it for years: sixteen bronze sculptures in all and one in marble, set along the climb among granite and trees.

You begin at the bottom, before the Madonna and Child carved in marble. Then the stations, one after another, with the pauses the gradient imposes by itself. At the fifth — the one where Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross — Messina placed Padre Pio. At the top of the hill, where the climb ends, stands the Risen Christ.

Some consider it the largest Way of the Cross in the Christian world. Records aside, it is the part of the pilgrimage where you really walk: half an hour to an hour at a quiet pace, with the town falling away below and the noise fading as you rise.

It is one of the experiences groups love most, and one of the few that can be done in silence even on crowded days: the climb spreads people out, and after the third or fourth station you find yourself almost alone.

The ground is uneven and the slope constant: comfortable shoes are needed. In summer it is best to go up early in the morning or late in the afternoon, with water and a hat: on the hillside the shade of the pines does not cover the whole route.

The dates and details of the work come from the tourist portal of the Municipality of San Giovanni Rotondo.