The Rione Castello is perched on a rocky spur known as Il Morgione, whose morphology makes it impossible to build a single house large enough to meet the needs of a big family like that of Grazio Forgione and Giuseppa De Nunzio. For this reason, the rooms—sometimes carved directly into the rock and scattered throughout the village—are referred to as “houses.”

At number 27 of Vico Storto Valle, the Forgione family owned a room used as a marital bedroom. It was here, on May 25, 1887, at the 21st hour (5 p.m.), that little Francesco Forgione—future Padre Pio—was born. That day, despite being close to giving birth, Mamma Peppa had gone to help her husband in Piana Romana, but in the early afternoon she began to feel labor pains and decided to return to the village. By the time Grazio also returned home that evening, baby Francesco had already been born.