Visit Molise - Tourism and travel tips for your vacation or weekend.

Molise's coast extends along 35 km of low coast, from the river Trigno to the stream Saccione, in Apulia. The coast's homogeneity is interrupted by the promontory on which stands the old town of Termoli surrounded by high fortified walls that fall into the sea. Termoli is the most renowned seaside resort of Molise's coast thanks to the beauty and breadth of its beaches, as well as many important hotel equipment and sports where visitors can enjoy themselves. Its beaches, with the clear seawater, the services offered, have been repeatedly awarded the Blue Flag of Europe.

The beach of Rio Vivo, in the south of the city, is the perfect attraction for water sports enthusiasts and for sailing's lovers. The environmental integrity characterizes the coast of Molise. The coastal landscape regains full its natural character with large branches near the beaches and the preservation of the original agricultural use of immediate hinterland.

The tourist centers minor, Marina di Montenero, Petacciato and Campomarino offer a wonderful seaside setting with enchanted places for the succession of suggestive dunes colonized by peculiar species until the typical Adriatic coastal vegetation, shady pine forests and sandy beaches equipped on velvet.
These places have a highly qualified tourist accommodation: camping and holiday centers, hotels, beach clubs and restaurants. There are also many beaches, with access from the Adriatic road, which offers its best in spring.

The coastal landscape is strongly linked to the hinterland and the maritime reality and the more typical peasant come together in a perfect ensemble of traditions and culture such as gastronomy. But it is not just the integrity of the coast to make decoy; develop new itineraries from here until you reach the hinterland, dotted with little villages, such as those of Albanian tradition: Portocannone, Campomarino, Ururi, Montecilfone. These are old communities that lived in Molise for more than five centuries, but variously preserved customs and language.

Petacciato is a dream beach with a pristine landscape where guests have time to relax. Petacciato tries to deviate from the traditional tourist's offer of Molise's coast. From the Caribbean style of Cala d'Or to the maneuvers of the classic Calypso and the spectacular scenery of La Torre, Petacciato beach is waiting for the debut of bathing season.

There are numerous activities, especially naturalistic ones, you can take in Molise with the arrival of summer. The visits to Fonte Grande and Fonte Lunga are inevitable: they're the two major sources near which you can stop and picnic and a walk along the nature trail.

Although Molise is geographically in central Italy, its culinary tradition is very much part of the south, using lots of pasta, chilli, and garlic with copious amounts of olive oil and fresh vegetables.

It shares a similar terrain to Marche in the north, with a long Adriatic coast and plain leading up to a more mountainous inland, and this has naturally led to a diverse cuisine. As you'd expect, seafood is dominant on the coast, with fish stews common everywhere, and deep fried squid reputedly among the finest in the country. Grilled fish such as anchovies and sardines are common, but the ubiquitous spiking with chilli makes Molise's seafood cooking stand out from its more northerly coastal neighbours.

In the mountains, meat is more popular, with lamb especially being used to make rich meat sauces for serving with pasta, although pork is also widely used, and wild mushrooms and truffles are common. The local pasta is recognised as being of superior quality thanks to the hardness of the local wheat variety, and it's common to serve it with a simple sauce of green vegetable leaves, garlic, oil, and of course a touch of chilli.

The Molise fondness for lamb means there's also a wide variety of sheep's milk cheeses - pecorino, ricotta, mozzarella, caciocavallo and more are all made throughout the region. Montepulciano is a common grape grown in the terraced foothills of the Appennines, and two Molise wines stand out: Biferno DOC and Pentro d'Isernia. The Molise Montepulciano doesn't have the worldwide reputation of close cousin Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, but the locals will doubtless say that the best Molise wine is kept back for their own consumption!