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LOCATION AND TERRITORY

Located in central western Italy between the Apennines and the Adriatic coast, the Molise territory is characterized by its high plains, gentle valleys and isolated peaks.
For millennia this region has been a natural bastion, first of the Samnites, legendary challengers who were eventually defeated by the Romans.
Today its heavily forested slopes are dotted with castles, many in excellent stages of preservation. They overlook friendly medieval villages, glorious ancient ruins and some of the most uncontaminated nature in all Europe, so pristine, in fact, that UNESCO has chosen Molise for two of its four Italian biosphere locations.

ACTIVITIES

Molise is a natural oasis where one can relax and enjoy the local life, spending some days in the many farmhouses or trekking and hiking in the mountains.
There also many natural sites to visit, such as WWF oasis, the Rosello Falls, the Rio Verde sources, the Montedimezzo’s woods and the UNESCO Biosphere reserve with wild boars, weasels, squirrels and owls.
Thanks to the short coastline on the Adriatic Sea it is possible to practice all kind of water sports.
Sepino, an ancient site, is famous also for its thermal waters, good for the treatment of the back.

WHAT TO VISIT

Larino
The old town is rather like an island in a sea of cultivated land. 
The surrounding valleys gave Larino its shape (like a wing) and preserved it from the worst ravages of modernity.  The old town includes important monuments, such as a fountain Fontana Nuova), now in disrepair, and the Duomo (Cathedral), made a minor basilica in 1928, which is considered by some to be one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Italy.

Termoli
The Mediterranean sunshine illuminates the ancient walls constructed by Emperor Frederick and the massive sixteenth-century castle that looms over the sea.
And everywhere in Molise, nature seems to keep watch over history, preserving memories.
Everywhere in Molise, nature seems to keep watch over history, preserving memories.
As in the esplanade at Sepino, whose archaeological zone testifies to the ancient Roman colony, and in the vicinity of Pietrabbondante, where another interesting archaeological site recalls the remote existence of the Samnites, an ancient Italic people that dared to challenge and fight the power of Rome.


Isernia
Isernia has been destroyed and rebuilt twelve times, the most recent being after the decimating bombardments of 1943. One outstanding monument is the Fraterna Fountain built in 14th century.
There's also a gracious cathedral, which almost looks more like an ancient Roman government building than a Roman Catholic Church.

Campobasso
The origins of this town go back to the Samnites (one of the antique Italian people) period, when the place was chosen for greater military control of the territory.
As regional capital of Molise, Campobasso preserves a lovely historic centre with typical medieval features dating back to the period of the powerful Monforte family. Visit the Monforte Castle and the Romanesque churches of San Bartolomeo and San Giorgino.
The church of Sant Antonino Abate houses the collection of carvings and wooden sculptures of sixteenth-century masters of Molise.

Castel San Vincenzo
Here, in an unforgettable high plain setting, surrounded by rockbound hills, snowcapped mountains and luxuriant evergreen forests, you will find a jewel-like lake, a beautifully restored Benedictine abbey and 9th-century hill town which scholars have likened to the monastery described by Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose.

FOOD SPECIALTIES

The macche with honey. It’s a polenta made from the characteristic corn grown in the mountainous areas. It is dense and cooked at length, then cut into slices with the help of a piece of string.
It can be eaten arranged in layers and covered with a pork meat sauce or by slices of pancetta (Italian bacon) or sausages, and then baked in the oven; or it can be eaten simply with vino cotto (cooked wine) or honey.

Abbuoti or torcinelli involtini. Envelopes of lamb intestines filled with chopped liver, sweetbreads, and hardboiled egg and baked. 


Calcioni di ricotta rustici: rounds of pasta dough filled with ricotta, provolone and Prosciutto (Italian ham) fried in olive oil.

Panettoncino di mais. It’s a spongy corn-flour cake with chocolate.

Picellati. These are pastries filled with honey, nuts and grapes.

Pizza con le foglie. It’s corn flour flatbread baked with wild greens; pizza e minestra is a soup of pork broth and field greens with the pizza crumbled into it.

Polenta maritata. Slices of cornmeal fried in oil with garlic, layered with a filling of red beans and peperoncini and baked in the oven, a specialty of Isernia.


CLIMATE AND TRAVEL SEASON

The climate is continental typically with winters colds and warm summers. The snowy precipitations abound in the mountainous zones.
The rains are scarce in the summer months. On the coast the climate is mild.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Sagra dei Misteri di Corpus Domini. June - Campobasso
It’s a folk tradition Holy Week representation.
It’s a religious representation, concerning the Old and New Testament, of the dogmas and lives of saints. These living pictures are on wooden platforms which are carried on peoples shoulders.
They are representations of historical religious figures; saints, devils and angels are supported from a metallic structure which was created by the local sculptor Di Zinno in the 18th century. The procession parades through the streets, to the accompaniment of local bands.

Sagra della pezzata di Capracotta. August - Isernia
It’s a festival dedicated to mutton dishes. It is the most characteristic gastronomic festival of the region and it attracts a large public.

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