Molise is without a doubt Italy's least known region. It is also Italy's youngest region as it only became independent in 1964. Until then it was a part of the neighbouring region of Abruzzo.
It is also one of Italy's least developed and poorest areas, where customs and traditions are still as they were hundreds of years ago. In the town Ururi, which was founded by Albanian refugees in the 14th century, a chariot race, reminiscent of Ben Hur in its brutality, is held every year through the town's streets. And standing next to the black clad grandmother who looks as if she has not heard of invention of the telephone you see young girls in colourful Benetton clothes carrying mobile phones. Here you will see underdeveloped villages seemingly forgotten by the development going on around them and maladjusted overdeveloped large cities where furious and ugly progress is clearly apparent. You don't go to Molise to visit the large cities but to enjoy its magnificent nature, its unspoilt beaches and its archaeological excavations.
Visit for example the little fishing and beach town Termoli close to Puglia. Its lovely sandy beach is a popular place especially for the locals of Molise. The castle of Termoli from the middle of the 13th century is impressive as is the cathedral with its Roman architecture from an even earlier date. Over 40% of Molise is covered by mountains and you get a good idea of their wild beauty if you take a trip to the Matese area, which is on the border with Campania. Eagles, wild boar, bears and wolves live in the deep woods but this does not deter the locals from visiting the area in large numbers, especially in the autumn when the mountains are covered with good edible mushrooms. If antiquity is more your cup of tea, then an excursion to Saepinium would be in order. Here you can visit unusually well preserved Roman ruins. They are not as extensive as Pompei but it is possible to enjoy your visit without the hordes that plague Pompei in the summer.
Molise is unusual in both the positive and negative sense of the word and is a region which must be experienced – both positively and negatively – before it becomes like the rest of Italy.
