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Molise

Sights in Molise

  1. Museo Archeologico Vittoriano

    The Museo Archeologico Vittoriano displays artefacts unearthed on the ruins of Saepinum.

    reviewed

  2. Riserva Collemeluccio

    The 350-hectare Riserva Collemeluccio is a prime picnic venue. It also offers good walking, with several trails leading off from the roadside visitors centre.

    reviewed

  3. Castello Svevo

    Termoli’s most famous landmark, Frederick II’s 13th-century Castello Svevo guards entry to the tiny borgo, a tangle of narrow streets, pastel-coloured houses and souvenir shops.

    reviewed

  4. Samnite theatre-temple complex

    About 30km northeast of Isernia, outside Pietrabbondante, the remains of a 2nd-century-BC Samnite theatre-temple complex reward a visit, as much as anything for its panoramic setting high above the rolling green countryside.

    reviewed

  5. Cattedrale di San Basso

    From Castello Svevo, follow the road up and you come to Piazza Duomo and Termoli’s majestic 12th-century Cattedrale di San Basso. A masterpiece of Puglian-Romanesque architecture, the cream-coloured­ facade features a striking round-arched ­central portal.

    reviewed

  6. Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno

    A 30km drive northwest of Isernia, near Castel San Vincenzo, the Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno is famous for its cycle of 9th-century frescoes by Epifanio (824–842). The abbey, one of the foremost monastic and cultural centres in 9th-century Europe, is now home to a community of Benedictine nuns.

    reviewed

  7. Saepinum

    One of Molise’s hidden treasures, the Roman ruins of Saepinum are among the best preserved and least visited in the country. Unlike Pompeii and Ostia Antica, which were both major ports, Saepinum was a small provincial town of no great importance. It was originally established by the Samnites but the Romans conquered it in 293 BC, paving the way for an economic boom in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Some 700 years later, it was sacked by Arab invaders. The walled town retains three of its four original gates and its two main roads, the cardusmaximus and the decamanus. Highlights include the forum, basilica and theatre.

    reviewed