Climbing the steep staircase leading to the Torretta eventually became too exhausting for the young Padre Pio, who at the time was suffering from a serious lung condition. It was therefore decided to move him to a more comfortable room on the upper floor of his mother’s house. This house had been purchased by Grazio with the money he earned working in the United States. Like many others, the Forgione family also experienced emigration, and if Padre Pio was able to study and become a priest, it was thanks in part to his father's hard work and sacrifices.

For several years, Padre Pio’s older brother Michele lived in this house, which is why locals still refer to it as “Zi’ Michele’s house.” From 1941 to 1943, it was also home to Maria Pyle, the American benefactress who financed the construction of the Capuchin Friars’ convent. These rooms, like the Torretta, witnessed the struggles and summers of a young friar on the path to sainthood—one who, in just a few years, would draw thousands of devotees to the Gargano.

Speaking of these rooms many years later, Padre Pio said:

“Ah, if only those walls could speak!”