Last weekend we went to Pietrelcina, 
the birth place of Padre Pio.

I call  myself a catholic but I'm not much into saints
(and therefore should be called an atheist according tot the Lion King)
so I was there mostly for the company and the town - if you can even call it that?

Now this is a rich town, thanks to the Padre Pio-tourism.
You can see all the houses are renovated and cared for.
But there are plenty of little mountain hamlets like this one,
much poorer,
perfect candidates for the 'buy a house for 1 euro'-campaign.

Anyway
it's a week ago and I keep thinking about the houses.
So Padre Pio was born in 1887 and lived until 1968. 
That's not so long ago. 
My sister is born in 1968.

And this, was his house.
The kitchen:

And the bedroom:

It must have been 10-15 m2 in total (107-160ft2).
And the whole family celebrated Christmas together there.
His parents' house was right next door, the same size.
And they had 6 children (plus 2 who died as a child).

HOW???

Now I don't know in what year they got electricity and running water,
but it definitely was not yet when he was born.

My father was born in 1939. They still lived that way at that time!

How much our lives have changed.
I mean, even if you live in poverty now,
it never is the poverty of that time.
Which was normality,
then.
I'm not saying people are less miserable now.
Maybe they are even more miserable.

But.

How our standards have changed.
Spaces, comodities, food, freedom, transport ...

I just can't wrap myself around it.

Oh and of course
I kept the best picture for last:

clara