Molise

Molise is Italy's youngest and least visited region, and that is precisely its charm. Between the Apennines and a short Adriatic coast lie quiet villages, ancient sheep tracks, the tratturi, and the Samnite and Roman ruins of Saepinum and Pietrabbondante.

Termoli has a pretty walled old town on the sea and trabucchi fishing platforms, while Agnone is famous for its bell foundry, one of the oldest in the world. It is a region for slow travel, good cheese and genuine hospitality.

The region that does exist

Molise is one of the smallest and least known regions in Italy, so much so that people joke online that it does not exist. Those who visit, however, discover an authentic land of green hills, mountains, woods, droving trails and stone villages, with some thirty kilometres of coastline on the Adriatic. Separated from Abruzzo only in 1963, Molise preserves traces of the Samnites, the ancient Italic people who long resisted Rome, as well as Roman towns, Norman castles and communities that still speak Molise Croatian and Arbëresh. Life moves slowly, traditions are alive and the food is genuine. It is a perfect region for anyone looking for an Italy far from mass tourism.

Campobasso and central Molise

Campobasso, the regional capital, has a medieval historic centre gathered beneath the Monforte castle, which offers views over the city and the hills. The Romanesque churches of San Bartolomeo and San Giorgio are the oldest, and the Samnite Museum tells the history of the Samnites. On the feast of Corpus Christi the city celebrates the Sagra dei Misteri, a procession in which children and adults in costume are suspended on iron structures, the Misteri, so that they seem to fly above the crowd. Nearby, Oratino, with its castle and Baroque churches, is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, and Lake Guardialfiera is a haven for birdwatching.

Sepino, Pietrabbondante and antiquity

Molise has fascinating archaeological sites that see few visitors. Altilia, ancient Saepinum, in the municipality of Sepino, is a Roman town enclosed by walls with four gates, the forum, the basilica, the theatre and houses, where a few farmers still live among the ruins. The site lies along the Pescasseroli-Candela droving trail, the ancient route of transhumance. At Pietrabbondante, in the mountains of Upper Molise, the Samnite sanctuary with its theatre and temples, overlooking a spectacular landscape, is the most important place of worship of the Samnites. Larino, with its Roman amphitheatre and Gothic cathedral, and Venafro, with the Pandone castle and its frescoed horses, complete the itinerary.

Isernia and Upper Molise

Isernia has a historic centre with the Fontana Fraterna and the cathedral, and a museum devoted to the Palaeolithic site of La Pineta, where traces of some of the oldest human settlements in Europe were found. Upper Molise is a land of mountains, forests and villages. Agnone is the town of bells: the Pontifical Marinelli Foundry has been casting bells for about a thousand years and is one of the oldest family businesses in the world, with a museum open to visitors. Agnone also celebrates Christmas Eve with the 'Ndocciata, a procession of huge fir-wood torches called 'ndocce. Capracotta, one of the highest villages in the Apennines, has cross-country ski trails and a botanical garden of Apennine flora. Frosolone is famous for its hand-made knives and scissors.

Termoli and the coast

Termoli is Molise's seaside town, with its walled old quarter on a promontory, the Swabian castle, the Romanesque cathedral and one of the narrowest alleys in Italy, the Rejecelle. Sandy beaches stretch north and south of the town, and trabucchi, old fishing machines, overlook the sea. Every August a simulated burning of the castle recalls the Turkish attack of 1566. Ferries leave the harbour for the Tremiti Islands, in Puglia. Inland, villages such as Guglionesi and the Croatian villages of Acquaviva Collecroce, Montemitro and San Felice del Molise preserve the languages and traditions brought by refugees from across the Adriatic in the sixteenth century.

Nature and walking routes

Molise is crossed by tratturi, the ancient grassy droving roads of transhumance, up to one hundred and eleven metres wide, which for centuries linked the summer pastures of Abruzzo to the winter grazing of Puglia. Today they can be followed on foot, by bike or on horseback, and transhumance has been recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage. Part of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park lies in Molise, with the Mainarde mountains and the Volturno valley. At Castel San Vincenzo, the Benedictine abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno has a crypt with ninth-century frescoes, and the springs of the Volturno near Rocchetta are a place of great beauty. The Matese massif, on the border with Campania, offers trails and ski slopes at Campitello Matese.

Villages and castles

Molise has hundreds of small villages, many of them perched on rocky spurs. The castle of Civitacampomarano, with its towers, hosts a street art festival every year that has turned the village walls into an open-air gallery. Scapoli is the village of the zampogna, the Italian bagpipe, celebrated with a fair and a museum. Fornelli, Castelpetroso, with its neo-Gothic sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows, and Pesche, clinging to a rock face, are other evocative stops. Many castles, such as those of Gambatesa, with its sixteenth-century frescoes, and Macchiagodena, can be visited and tell the feudal history of the region.

Food and wine

Molise cooking is humble and full of flavour, tied to the land and to sheep farming. Cavatelli, served with pork sauce or broccoli, and home-made pasta with pulses are the most common first courses. Pezzata, mutton slowly boiled with herbs, is the dish of the pastoral tradition, and arrosticini skewers are popular here too. Caciocavallo from Agnone, stracciata, scamorza, soppressata and ventricina are typical products, along with truffles, of which Molise is one of Italy's leading producers. Among the sweets are the filled wafers of Agnone, caggionetti, fried Christmas ravioli, and scattone. The most representative wine is Tintilia, a native red, alongside Biferno and Pentro di Isernia.

Traditions and festivals

Molise has a rich calendar of festivals combining faith and peasant traditions. Besides the Sagra dei Misteri in Campobasso and the 'Ndocciata in Agnone, Larino celebrates the Feast of San Pardo at the end of May, with ox-drawn carts decorated with flowers. In Ururi and Portocannone, Arbëresh communities, the Carresi are run, races of carts pulled by oxen. The Carnival of Tufara, with the Devil and Death, and the Fires of Saint Joseph are other evocative events. In summer every village holds a festival devoted to local produce, from truffles to cavatelli.

When to go and how to get around

Spring and autumn are the ideal seasons to visit Molise: the landscapes are green or golden, the temperatures mild and the villages quiet; autumn is also truffle season. Summer is perfect for the sea at Termoli and for village festivals, winter for the snow of Upper Molise and Christmas traditions. Termoli is served by trains along the Adriatic coast, and Campobasso and Isernia have bus and regional train connections, but to reach villages and archaeological sites a car is essential. The nearest airports are Pescara, Naples, Bari and Rome.