ABOUT MOLISE

ABOUT MOLISE - being with nature and a gentle pace of life. (Pronounced: MO'LEE -SAY)

A small region of unspoiled hilly terrain which lies south of Abruzzo and north of Puglia and has a delightful stretch of 35 kilometres of sandy beaches. It is divided into two regions; Campobasso and Isernia. Castles and charming villages cling to the hillsides where farmers still maintain their land by traditional methods. ( Concentrating on wheat and potatoes with vineyards and olive groves on the coast) Large parts of Molise are covered by nature reserves. So untouched is Molise that UNESCO has chosen it for two of its four Italian biosphere locations.

Tourism is increasing as the area becomes more sought after. Holiday resorts in the mountain centres of Capracotta, Pescopennataro, Frosolone, Larino and Campitello Matese, a winter sports resort, are becoming more and more popular.

The Adriatic coast offers wide, sandy beaches with clean water. Petacciato Marina, Marino di Montanero, Campomarino and Termoli are the most well known seaside resorts.

A fine example of a village reviving itself and becoming a thriving community is Larino, near the coastal town of Termoli. Larino was a particular beneficiary of the then government's very generous policy of contributing state funds to individuals to make their homes more resistant to seismic activity and the town, already one of the most beautiful in the province, has been transformed. It was policy to return the houses to their historical colours and, based on careful research, the structures were painted in a range of soft pastel tones. As a result Larino has become an important centre for tourism and scores of expatriates from all over the world are returning to live in the revived centro storico (antique centre).. This is our mission for the lovely village of Sant' Angelo di Limosano situated at 900 metres above sea level and a few minutes drive from the capital of Campobasso, which has 51,000 inhabitants.

Fiat has a plant in Molise and the building industry dominates the industrial sector, with small and medium sized farms spread widely throughout the region. Also important is the processing of food, pasta, meat,milk, and of course oil and wine. Molise produces its own red wine including Montepulciano di Molise and Aglianico.

 With few exceptions, in all sectors firms are small and usually family owned, this explains the difficulties encountered when marketing their products on a national scale.

International tourism is becoming more evident, largely as a result of the international flights from other European states, Great Britain, and North America with flights to Pescara, not far to the north in Abruzzo and Naples (90klm), Rome (190klm), Bari (190klm), Foggia (80 klm). Also there are excellent rail services from all major cities to the region.

During the period 1951-71, large-scale emigration to other countries of the European Union, to other parts of Italy and overseas led to a significant decline in the population of Molise. Negative net migration persisted until 1981. Large-scale emigration has caused many of the smaller towns and villages to lose over 60% of their population, while only a small number of larger towns have recorded significant gains. From 1982 to 1994, net migration has been positive, then followed by a negative trend until 2001. Between 1991 (330,900 inhabitants) and 2001 (320,601 inhabitants), the population of the region decreased by 3.1%;[3] since 2001 the population remained stable.

In the region there are two ethnic minorities: the Molisan Croats(5,000 people who speak an old Dalmatian dialect of the Croatian language) and the Molisan Albanians (who speak a divergent variety of Albanian, Arbëresh, very different from the Albanian spoken on the other side of the Adriatic Sea). Molisan Albanians are generally of the Byzantine Catholic religion , while Molise Croats are generally Catholics.

Roman ruins in Sepino, the original Roman Explore Molise with Alessandro and his Landrover. The main road in to Sant' Angelo's
name was Saepinum later changed to Altilia No one knows the off road terrain better than him! 'Centro Storico' (Historic Centre)