The landscapes of Molise between nature and rurality

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The landscapes of Molise between nature and rurality

by Alessandro Aceto

Molise is an ancient land where the natural landscapes of the Apennines, resting on the backs of imposing mountain ranges, descend towards the sea along the course of the Trigno, Biferno and Fortore rivers.

Its southern borders are guarded by a giant: the Matese, a territory of about 1,500 kilometers, which has become the 24th Italian national park. Located on the Apennine watershed, with alignment from NW to SE, the Matese presents itself with vastness of landscapes, in an alternation of ridges, plateaus and deep incisions, dominated by lush forests and high altitude meadows.

Here, the Tyrrhenian air masses, after passing the Miletto (m. 2050), La Gallinola (m. 1923) and Mutria (m.1823) mountains, discharge abundant rainfall on the Molise side, which forms an imposing underground aquifer. Numerous are the karst manifestations: sinkholes, chasms, caves, streams that sink and reappear on the surface.
In the Oasis of Guardiaregia-Campochiaro it is possible to admire spectacular karst phenomena, such as the Canyon of the Quirino stream and the San Nicola waterfall, with a total jump of 100 meters, the caves of the Pozzo della Neve (depth – 1048 m.) and of the Cul di Bove (depth – 913 m.) are among the deepest abysses in Europe.

The villages of Matese appear suspended between the solemnity of the peaks and the valley below like the Tibetan bridge of Roccamandolfi. To the east of the Matese, the Samnite Apennines take on sweeter shapes, slide into the Sepino plain and start again with a series of high hills where woods and meadows alternate, embellished with sleepy villages, ancient farmhouses and centuries-old oaks. In Sepino the remains of the Roman city, immersed in a bucolic landscape, still seem to be crossed by the river of sheep of the transhumant shepherds who traveled on the Regio Tratturo Pescasseroli Candela.

Jelsi with its spectacular wheat festival (26 July), Tufara with the Devil’s pantomime (Shrove Tuesday), Gambatesa with the castle and its sixteenth-century frescoes by Donato da Copertino are villages not to be missed.

To the west of the Matese, separated from the Volturno Valley, the Mainarde mountain range is a precipitous limestone massif with altitudes exceeding 2,000 m above sea level. and are reflected in the lake of Castel San Vincenzo. Here the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise preserves habitats and species of exceptional value: deer, wolves, eagles, bears, chamois frequent clearings, forests, grasslands, ravines and ravines undisturbed.

In spring, streams swollen with melted snow feed the Volturno, the most important river in Southern Italy which is born here from over a hundred springs near Mount Azzone and which, unique among the rivers of Molise, flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The Mainarde dominate the Alta Valle del Volturno: a small territory scattered with tiny villages, founded by the abbots of the famous abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno whose vestiges, brought to light by current archaeological excavations, are manifested in all their beauty in the Cripta dell’Abate Epifanio.

Not to be missed: the walled streets of Filignano; the artisan shops of Scapoli, where bagpipes and ciaramelle take shape from cherry or olive wood; the pantomime of the Deer which takes place in Castelnuovo on the last Sunday of Carnival; the lake of Castel San Vincenzo and the medieval village of Fornelli.

In the northern part of the province of Isernia, Alto Molise (Upper Molise) takes its name from the shares of vast plateaus covered with extensive tall forests from which fortresses and castles sprout. Monte Capraro (m. 1730 s / m), Monte Miglio (m. 1350 s / m) and Monte Campo (m 1746 s / m) are the highest peaks.

Upper Molise offers scenarios characterized by vastness of horizons and environments of exceptional naturalistic value: the white fir forest of Pescopennataro is a relic of the Quaternary glaciations that has survived to the present day. The natural areas of Collemeluccio and Monte di Mezzo are reserves of the UNESCO “Man and Biosphere” (MAB) program.

Here the villages all stand at around 1,000 m s / m, with Capracotta which, resting on the ridge of Monte Campo, is one of the highest (1421 m s / m) and snowiest towns in Italy. The high lands of this part of Molise overlook natural balconies at the cliff of San Pietro Avellana, suspended over the Sangro valley, and near the suggestive Samnite theater of Pietrabbondante (1st century BC), with its ergonomic seats carved in stone, which overlook the Trigno Valley and the Regio Tratturo Celano Foggia which crosses the hills of central Molise.

To visit the castle of the Duchi D’Alessandro a Pescolanciano, the Sanctuary of the Sanniti Pentri, near Pietrabbondante, the villages of Carovilli and Vastogirardi, the Giardino della Flora Appenninica di Capracotta and the town of Agnone, with the historic Marinelli foundry which manufactures bells from a thousand years and where on the evening of the Immaculate Conception a river of lighted torches runs through the main street (the ndocciata).

The Montagnola of Molise forms the hinge between the Matese and Upper Molise and is at the center of the sheep tracks Lucera/Castel di Sangro and Celano/Foggia. The road that goes up from Sessano crosses one of the most beautiful beech woods in Molise and then reaches a suggestive altitude landscape characterized by cliffs suitable for climbing. Don’t miss Frosolone, Carpinone with its waterfall, Frosolone, Civitanova del Sannio and Macchiagodena.

Descending from the Apennines, Central Molise is a succession of high clayey hills that gallop towards the sea following the course of the Trigno, Biferno and Fortore rivers. The roads towards the coast run along the valley floor revealing medieval villages, towers and bell towers gathered around gigantic limestone and sandstone spikes called Morge. These are rocks that have resisted the erosion of the softer clayey soils surrounding them.

Among the geosites not to be missed, the Morgia di Pietravalle, in the Municipality of Salcito, where there are artificial cavities referable to rock settlements, the Morgia di Pietra Martino, in the countryside of the municipality of Salcito (Campobasso), the Morgia di Pietracupa, a spur rock inside which a rupestrian church dedicated to Sant’Antonio Abate is excavated, the Morgia di Limosano, a geosite on which the ancient center of Limosano stands, the Rocca di Oratino.

Among the emergencies: the cathedral of Trivento, the church of San Giorgio in Petrella Tifernina, the castle of Evoli in Castropignano, the church of Santa Maria della Strada in Matrice and the villages of Ripabottoni and Provvidenti.

Proceeding towards the sea, beyond the Celano – Foggia sheep track, the centuries-old tradition of cereal cultivation has given a clear imprint to the landscape, characterized by large spaces and enriched, starting from the 1950s, by the presence of small olive groves. Here the territory takes on the characteristics of the cultivated landscape, dotted with farmhouses built on the top of the hills. The artificial lake of Guardialfiera on the Biferno heralds the encounter with the Adriatic Sea.

The Costa del Molise, low and sandy, extends for 35 kilometers from the mouth of the Trigno river to that of the Apulian Saccione stream. It is presided over by the seaside village of Termoli, gathered around the tower of the ancient Swabian Castle. The magnificent Romanesque facade of the Cathedral of San Basso stands out on the large Piazza Duomo.