Agnone is a charming Molise mountain town few tourists know - but is well worth exploring.
Because, if there is one Italian region international travellers have yet to truly discover, it could well be Molise. Agnone is a small mountain town in Upper Molise, surrounded by forests and spectacular Apennine landscapes. It is a place to slow down, explore a genuinely lived-in historic centre, eat well and discover traditions few international visitors get to experience. Pescara Airport is 70 kilometres away and Naples Airport, a hub for international flights, is about 100 kilometres distant.
Agnone is famous for making bells
Agnone’s charm is quiet: historic streets, stone doorways, old palaces, churches and small cafés where locals gather. The town is famous for its bell-making tradition and the Pontifical Marinelli Bell Foundry is one of the world’s oldest where bells are still produced using traditional techniques. At over 800 metres asl Agnone offers cooler summers and is particularly appealing in the autumn for the colours of its forests.
Hearty mountain dishes
Molise is known for its mountain cuisine based on handmade pasta, cured meats, cheeses, truffles and wild mushrooms. A standout specialty is zuppa alla santè, a hearty Christmas soup of chicken broth, meat and cheese meatballs. While Agnone is also famous for ostie ripiene which are wafers filled with nuts, honey and chocolate, and confetti ricci, a traditional sugared almond sweet.
Caserta’s Royal Palace
Molise (like Calabria) has no UNESCO site, but just 100 kilometres away the Royal Palace of Caserta with its spectacular park, Vanvitelli aqueduct and San Leucio Complex is a World Heritage site. In a grand Baroque and Neoclassical style, it has over 1,200 rooms, lavish royal apartments, monumental staircases and a theatre, while its vast gardens feature fountains, pools and waterfalls, and all this can easily be fitted into a day's itinerary or an overnight from Molise.
