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Molise

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For other uses, seeMolise (disambiguation).
Molise
Mulise(Neapolitan)
Moliš(Slavomolisano)
Region
Flag of Molise
Flag
Coat of arms of Molise
Coat of arms
Coordinates:41°41′59″N14°36′40″E/ 41.6997°N 14.6111°E/41.6997; 14.6111
CountryItaly
CapitalCampobasso
Government
• PresidentFrancesco Roberti(FI)
Area
• Total4,438 km2(1,714 sq mi)
Population
(31-12-2017)
• Total308,493
• Density70/km2(180/sq mi)
Demonym(s)English:Molisan
Italian:Molisano(man)
Italian:Molisana(woman)
GDP
[1]
• Total€6.452 billion (2021)
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
ISO 3166 codeIT-67
HDI(2021)0.874[2]
very high·15th of 21
NUTS RegionITF
Websiteregione.molise.it

Molise(UK:/mɒˈliːzeɪ/mol-EE-zay,[3]US:/ˈmoʊlizeɪ,moʊˈliːzeɪ/MOH-lee-zay, moh-LEE-zay,[4][5][6]Italian:[moˈliːze];Molisan:Mulise,pronounced[mə'li.zə]) is aregionofSouthern Italy.Until 1963, it formed part of the region ofAbruzzi e Molisetogether withAbruzzo.The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Italy. Covering 4,438 square kilometres (1,714 sq mi), it is the second smallest region in the country, after theAosta Valley,and has a population of 313,348 (as of 1 January 2015).

The region is split into two provinces, named after their capitals:CampobassoandIsernia.Campobassoalso serves as the regional capital.

Geography[edit]

Molise is bordered byAbruzzoto the north,Apuliato the east,Lazioto the west, andCampaniato the south. It has 35 kilometres (22 miles) of sandy coastline to the northeast, lying on theAdriatic Sealooking out toward theTremiti Islands.The countryside of Molise is mostly mountainous, with 55% covered by mountains and most of the rest by hills that go down to the sea.[7]

Main sights and monuments[edit]

Archeological sites of Molise

Campobasso[edit]

Castello Monforte
  • Castello Monforte
  • Terzano Tower
  • Campobasso Cathedral (Santissima Trinità)
  • Church of Sant'Antonio
  • Church of San Bartolomeo
  • Church of San Giorgio
  • Savoia Theater
  • San Giorgio Palace (Head of municipality)
  • Provincial Museum of "Sanniti"

Isernia[edit]

Altilia(Sepino)

Termoli[edit]

Venafro[edit]

Province of Campobasso[edit]

Iserniacollage

Province of Isernia[edit]

Economy[edit]

Castle ofTermoli
Campobasso's Cathedral

Agriculture, involving small and micro holdings, is currently offering high-quality products. The agricultural holdings produce wine, cereals, olive oil, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. Traditional products areGrass Pea (cicerchia)andFarro.Molise's autochthonous grape isTintiliawhich has been rediscovered during the last ten years, and many other PDO (DOP) wines, both red and white.

Though there is a largeFiatplant (Termoli), the industrial sector is dominated by the farming industry with small and medium-sized farms spread widely throughout the region. Another important industry is food processing: pasta, meat, milk products, oil and wine are the traditional products of the region. In the services sector the most important industries are distribution, hotels and catering, followed by transport and communications, banking and insurance. With few exceptions, in all sectors firms are small, and this explains the difficulties encountered when marketing products on a national scale.[8]

International tourism is growing largely as a result of the recent opening of international flights from other European countries toPescara Airport,which is not far to the north in Abruzzo and connected to Molise by theA14 highway(the only highway passing through Molise, by Termoli).

The unemployment rate stood at9.5%in 2020.[9]

Tourism[edit]

Molise has many small and picturesque villages, four of them have been selected byI Borghi più belli d'Italia(English:The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[10]a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[11]that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.[12]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1861355,000—
1871374,000+5.4%
1881382,000+2.1%
1901395,000+3.4%
1911396,000+0.3%
1921383,000−3.3%
1931377,000−1.6%
1936388,000+2.9%
1951406,823+4.9%
1961358,052−12.0%
1971319,807−10.7%
1981328,371+2.7%
1991330,900+0.8%
2001320,601−3.1%
2011313,660−2.2%
2021292,150−6.9%
Source:ISTAT

The density of the population in Molise is well below the national average. In 2008, Molise registered 72.3 inhabitants per km2,compared to a national figure of 198.8. The region is subdivided into two provinces: Campobasso and Isernia, which together cover 1.5% of Italy's territory and less than 1% of its population. The larger province in terms of area is Campobasso at 2,909 km2,while the smaller is Isernia at 1,529 km2.The province of Campobasso is the more densely populated of the two provinces, with 79.4 inhabitants per km2,whereas Isernia registers 58.9 inhabitants per km2.[13]At the end of 2008 the most populous towns were Campobasso (51,247 inhabitants), Termoli (32,420) and Isernia (21,811).

In 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%;[13]since 2001 the population remained stable.

The region is home to two main ethnic minorities: theMolisan Croats(20,000 people who speak an old Dalmatian dialect of Croatian alongside Italian), and those who speak theArbëreshdialect of Albanian in five towns of "basso Molise" in the province of Campobasso.

Government and politics[edit]

Main article:Politics of Molise

Administrative divisions[edit]

Molise comprises two provinces:

Province Area (km2) Population Density (inhabitants/km2)
Province of Campobasso 2,909 231,921 79.7
Province of Isernia 1,529 88,931 58.2

Culture[edit]

See also:List of museums in Molise

Molise has much tradition from the religious to the pagan, many museums, archeological sites, musical and food events.

Tradition

  • The Festival dei Misteri inCampobasso(Corpus Domini)
  • Feast of Saint Pardo with ox chariot (cart) inLarino(25-26-27/May)
  • Ox chariots (La Carrese) and feast of Saint Leo inSan Martino in Pensilis(30 April and 2 May)
  • TheNdocciataofAgnone(8-24/December)
  • The Saint Basso feast inTermoliwith procession of boats on the sea (4 August)
  • "U lut'm sab't d'April" ofSanta Croce di Maglianowith benediction of animals (Last Saturday of April)
  • Procession of Good Friday inCampobasso
  • The procession of hooded on the Good Friday atIsernia
  • The fire of Saint Anthony the Abbot inColletorto(17 January)
  • The feast of Saint Nicandro inVenafro(17 June)
  • The ox chariots and feast in the village ofUruriandPortocannone
  • The feast of San Biagio inSan Biase(3 February), with the traditional game of theMorraand the distribution of Bread to all the inhabitants

Arts, musical and food festivals

Museums

Cuisine[edit]

The cuisine of Molise is similar to thecuisine of Abruzzo,though there are some differences in the dishes and ingredients. The flavors of Molise are dominated by the many aromaticherbsthat grow there. Some of the characteristic foods include spicysalami,a variety of locally producedcheeses,dishes usinglamborgoat,pastadishes with hearty sauces, and vegetables that grow in the region.

In addition tobruschetta,a typicalantipastowill consist of any of several meat dishes, such as the sausagescapocollo,thefennel-seasoned salsiccie al finocchio,soppressata,ventricina,frascateglie or sanguinaccio. In addition to these sausages, a variety ofhamis available, such as smokedprosciutto.Frequently, the sausages are enjoyed withpolenta.

Main dishes of the region include:

Common second dishes (often meat and vegetable dishes) are:

  • Lamb, the most popular meat, served grilled, roasted, or stewed
  • Many organ meats of lamb, especiallytripe,are popular
  • Coniglio alla molisana,grilled rabbit pieces skewered with sausage and herbs
  • Mazzarelle,tightly wrapped rolls made with lung and tripe of lamb
  • Ragù d' agnello,braised lamb with sweet peppers, a specialty of Isernia
  • Torcinelli,rolled strips of lamb tripe, sweetbreads, and liver
  • Pamparellaor pork pancetta dried with peperoncino, soaked in wine and cut into small pieces. Pamparella is used to flavor sauces, in particular the sauce for dressing the tacconi, a rustic pasta made with flour and water.
  • Saucicc', Paparuol' e Ova Fritte,sausage with sweet pepper and fried eggs

Typical vegetable dishes may include:

  • Carciofi ripieni,artichokes stuffed withanchoviesandcapers
  • Peeled sweet peppers stuffed with breadcrumbs, anchovies, parsley,basiland peperoncino, sautéed in a frying pan and cooked with chopped tomatoes
  • Cipollacci con pecorino,fried strong onions and pecorino cheese
  • Frittatacon basilico e cipolle,omelette with basil and onions

Fish dishes include red mullet soup, and spaghetti withcuttlefish.Troutfrom theBifernoriver is notable for its flavor, and is cooked with a simple but tasty sauce of aromatic herbs. Zuppa di pesce, a fish stew, is a specialty ofTermoli.

The cheeses produced in Molise are not very different from those produced in Abruzzo. The more common ones are Burrino and Manteca, soft, buttery cow's-milk cheeses; Pecorino, sheep's-milk cheese, served young and soft or aged and hard, called also "Maciuocco" in Molise; Scamorza, bland cow's-milk cheese, often served grilled; andCaciocavallo,sheep's-milk cheese.

Sweets and desserts have an ancient tradition here and are linked to the history of the territory and to religious and family festivities. Most common are:

  • Calciumi(also calledcaucioniorcauciuni), sweetraviolifilled with chestnuts, almonds, chocolate, vanilla, cooked winemusts,and cinnamon and then fried
  • Ciambelline,ring-shaped cakes made in the countryside. They may beall'olio(with olive oil) oral vino rosso(with red wine).
  • Ferratelle all'anice,anise cakes made in metal molds and stamped with special patterns
  • Ricotta pizza,a cake pan filled with a blend of ricotta cheese, sugar, flour, butter, maraschino liqueur, and chocolate chips[14]

International relations[edit]

See also:List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

Twin towns — sister cities[edit]

Molise istwinnedwith:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Population on 1 January by age, sex and NUTS 2 region",ec.europa.eu
  2. ^"Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab".hdi.globaldatalab.org.Retrieved2023-03-05.
  3. ^"Molise".LexicoUK English Dictionary.Oxford University Press.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-03-22.
  4. ^"Molise".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(5th ed.). HarperCollins.Retrieved6 May2019.
  5. ^"Molise".Collins English Dictionary.HarperCollins.Retrieved6 May2019.
  6. ^"Molise".Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Retrieved6 May2019.
  7. ^"Molise"(in Italian).Retrieved19 March2023.
  8. ^"Eurostat".Europa (web portal). Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-21.Retrieved2009-05-05.
  9. ^"Unemployment NUTS 2 regions Eurostat".
  10. ^"Molise"(in Italian). 9 January 2017.Retrieved1 August2023.
  11. ^"Borghi più belli d'Italia. Le 14 novità 2023, dal Trentino alla Calabria"(in Italian). 16 January 2023.Retrieved28 July2023.
  12. ^"I Borghi più belli d'Italia, la guida online ai piccoli centri dell'Italia nascosta"(in Italian).Retrieved3 May2018.
  13. ^ab"Eurostat".Europa (web portal). 2001-01-01. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-08-05.Retrieved2009-05-05.
  14. ^"Abruzzo and Molise Heritage Society".Abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-03-09.Retrieved2013-03-12.
  15. ^"Miasta partnerskie i zaprzyjaźnione Nowego Sącza".Urząd Miasta Nowego Sącza(in Polish). Archived fromthe originalon 2013-05-23.Retrieved2013-08-01.

External links[edit]

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