In Padre Pio’s time, the landscape of Piana Romana was characterized by wheat fields and the presence of numerous trees, particularly elms. One such elm stood on the Forgione family’s property, near a small tool shed. Beneath its wide and dense canopy, the young Padre Pio—recently ordained as a priest—would often rest and find shelter from the summer heat.

It was here, in September 1910, that the saint received the stigmata for the first time. This place holds a crucial role in his human and spiritual journey. In fact, when speaking about it later in life, Padre Pio said: “Everything happened there—Jesus was there!”

Today, what remains of the elm is a dry trunk that still powerfully bears witness to the miraculous events it once sheltered. The small chapel that now surrounds it was built precisely on the spot where the tool shed stood over a century ago.