Rocca Calascio, Italy - right beside the wonderful fortress of Rocca Calascio, and located on the top of a mountain, the Santa Maria della Pietà church displays a breathtaking view

Shutterstock

Abruzzo & Molise

Bisected by the spinal Apennine mountains, Abruzzo and Molise make up Italy’s forgotten quarter, blessed more with natural attractions than cultural colossi. A major national-park-building effort in the 1990s created an almost unbroken swath of protected land that stretches from the harsh, isolated Monti della Laga in the north to the round-topped Majella mountains further south.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Roman ruins of Saepinum

    Saepinum

    Molise

    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…

  • Museo Paleolitico di Isernia

    Museo Paleolitico di Isernia

    Molise

    Built around the adjacent 730,000-year-old archaeological site of La Pineta, this intriguing museum stands next to a pavilion that protects the site of…

  • San Vincenzo al Volturno, a Benedictine monastery

    Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno

    Molise

    Founded in the 8th century, the Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno is famous for its cycle of 9th-century frescoes by Epifanio (824–842) in the crypt…

  • Eremo di sant'Onofrio al Marrone, Sulmona, Abruzzo, Italy.

    Eremo di Sant’Onofrio al Morrone

    Abruzzo

    This cliff-clinging hermitage with its 15th-century ceiling, 13th-century frescoes, narrow oratory and arched porticoes cowers under a massive rock face…

  • Santa Maria di Collemaggio basilica facade

    Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio

    Abruzzo

    With its distinctive chequerboard facade and strong links to Italy’s much admired hermit-pope Celestino V (whose remains are interred inside), the 12th…

  • Santuario di Ercole Curino

    Santuario di Ercole Curino

    Abruzzo

    Sitting below the Sant’Onofrio hermitage, this sanctuary was originally thought to be the house of Sulmona-born poet Ovid when it was first uncovered in…

  • Piazza Garibaldi

    Piazza Garibaldi

    Abruzzo

    The large town square is home to Sulmona's extensive Wednesday and Saturday morning market: you'll find fresh fish, veg, fruit and flowers, as well as the…

View more attractions
  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: destinations/top
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "destination": "Abruzzo-&-Molise",
  "region": "Mediterranean-Europe",
  "country": "Italy",
  "continent": "Europe"
}

Plan with a local

Go Beyond

Abruzzo & Molise and beyond

Beyond Abruzzo & Molise
  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: destinations/bottom
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "destination": "Abruzzo-&-Molise",
  "region": "Mediterranean-Europe",
  "country": "Italy",
  "continent": "Europe"
}