MOLISE

An area that was traditionally made up of shepherds and farmers, Molise still has not fully developed its tourist potential and it remains as one of the most hidden and least known areas. In truth Molise offers a great deal for tourists looking for an old-fashioned lifestyle: clear seas, beautiful nature and thousands of years of history.

For those desiring an out of the ordinary vacation and those who are not afraid of new experiences, Molise is a treasure chest waiting to be opened, offering a refuge of tranquillity. One of the charms lies in the rich mountain and shepherd traditions, in the thick forests that are well preserved offering family-style rustic hospitality. Visiting Molise is above all a chance to discover farm traditions which are evident and predominate in the area. In the Trigno valley and Volturno we advise visiting Pescolanciano with the Castle of Alexander, Pietrabbondante, a characteristic locale on a 1027 m. hilltop. Agnone is known for its historical bell factories and Capracotta is one of the hills situated in the highest tops of the whole Apennine chain. In Matese, which is in the Campobasso province, visit Campitello Matese, equipped with winter sports facilities and Bojano, the homeland of mozzarella. If you continue south to Termoli you won’t want to miss seeing the castle of the twelfth century and the cathedral of San Basso, which is from the same period.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

The festival of Saint Cristina, patron saint of Sepino (CB)

Saint Cristina had a unique destiny in the celebration of the rights. She was born and grew up in Bolsena, and died a Christian martyr. In 1908 her relics were stolen by two pilgrims on their way to the holy land.

Along the road to the south, some pilgrims stopped in at the city of Sepino carrying their venerable bundle with them. At the moment they started back on their trip, events started happening that stopped them from leaving. Finally the pilgrims realized that the obstacle was the relic itself: so they left it as a gift to the people of Sepino, following the divine destiny.

Since then the worship of the Saint has been strongly felt in the city.

THE RITUAL OF JANUARY 9 AND 10.  The church festival falls on July 24, and it is celebrated in Sepino by a solemn procession. The people of Sepino decided to hold their own special devotional event for the martyr, whose remains were given to them as if through a divine gift. A local rite was born and it is celebrated on January 9 and 10. The development of the celebration clearly indicates a layering of Christian and pagan traditions.

On the evening of the ninth a ceremony is held to offer the archaic Saint, which is identifiable with the worship of the mother goddess: a parade guided by the authorities and by a group of children referred to as the “verginelle” holding a silver tray with golden treasures, frankincense and myrrh. As in the tradition of the Three Wise Men, there is another pre-Christian practice here that is found in antiquity: gold, frankincense and myrrh represented very common ancient religious symbols. Gold represented the sun and therefore the divine; incense - with its smoke rising towards the heavens – was the symbol of meditation and prayer, the bond between the earth and the sky, the visible and invisible; myrrh represented healing abilities, the gift of curing and freeing people from evil spirits, the power of purification.

THE WINES IN MOLISE

This small region, which may have been forgotten for too long in Italy, conserves a farm culture that is still strong today. The production of wine is widespread throughout Molise, though there is some difficulty with commercial aspects, which means that wine is produced exclusively at a local level.

In the two provinces Campobasso and Isernia, there is a long series of wines produced individually by small vineyards that are frequently quite good. In Campobasso they make Montepulciano di Campobasso, which is an intense red that is even bubbly at times depending on the year.

THE FLAVOURS OF MOLISE

Having been separate from Abruzzo only since 1963, Molise has many characteristics that are naturally similar to its sister region, though there are also some important differences. The separateness of the Molise region has safeguarded its natural resources, which are highly valuable to quality tourism. It is perfect for those who love true nature, antique traditions and fine food born from local products.

THE APPETIZERS. The sheep milk ricotta, the provolone piccante cheese, prosciutto ham, eggs and parsley make up the filling for caggiuni, which are a sort of small golden fried calzone that can be served as an appetizer. The scapece di “licette”, are golden fried anchovies that have been marinated in vinegar and saffron. Ricotta is also used in pallotte in brodo, together with egg, pecorino cheese and parsley: This is used to make small dough balls that are fried to golden perfection and layered in a soup terrine with bits of toasted bread and then covered with steaming broth.

FIRST COURSES.  The cavatielli ‘ncatenati are a kind of fresh pasta made from flour and hard grain, formed into cylinders of about 2 centimetres with an indention in the centre, topped with (“’ncatenati”) an egg and bacon topping. The influence from Puglia is evident in fusilli alla molisana, prepared by hand with hard grain flour and topped with a mixed meat sauce (lamb, veal and sausage) and grated pecorino cheese; the same topping flavours tacconcelle which are rhomboid shaped pasta made from flour and egg.

THE SECOND COURSES.  One of the fish based dishes with the addition of bell pepper is spigola alla pitarillara, which is sea bass cut into slices and cooked with olive oil, tomato, garlic, parsley and basil while baccalà 'mbriache', which means drunken codfish, is cooked in the oven with lots of dry white wine, olive oil, bay and onion. Another simple meat-based dish, like capra alla molisana, is goat marinated in wine with sage, bay and rosemary cooked in oil, onion and tomato. A traditional shepherd’s dish is pezzata, which is sheep meat cut into pieces and boiled with celery, onion, hot pepper and diced tomatoes.

THE DESSERTS.  And then we move to desserts: you can find the same crackers called ferratelle in Abruzzo, but here the golden brown and crunchy crackers with anise seed are called cancelle. The caggiunitti are cookies filled with a chestnut, chocolate, ground almond and candied fruit mixture that are fried in oil and lard. Just like Abruzzo, Molise also makes many preserves and comfits which have their main production centre in Agnone.