Fornelli: The City of Oil and Seven Towers Among the Mountains of Isernia

The name might be misleading — and indeed scholars still debate whether it derives from medieval 'furnaces' or from a corruption of 'Forum Cornelii.' But Fornelli, in the province of Isernia, needs no etymology to make an impression: just walking along the fifteenth-century city walls, still nearly intact, is enough to realize you're standing before one of the best-preserved medieval villages in Molise.

The seven towers and the Angevin walls

Founded in the ninth century as a dependency of the Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno — the first documented attestation dates to 981 — Fornelli owes its current appearance to the Angevin transformations of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The walls encircling the old nucleus are punctuated by seven towers, some circular and some polygonal, rising above the rooftops like forgotten sentinels. The Porta d'Entrata, with its pointed arch, leads into a labyrinth of alleyways where time truly seems to have stopped.

The olive-growing tradition

Beyond the walls, on the hills sloping toward the Volturno Valley, olive groves have been present since time immemorial. Fornelli is recognized as a 'City of Oil': the extra virgin olive oil produced in the surrounding area is fruity and light, with a low acidity that makes it equally suited to raw consumption and cooking. The best way to taste it is in the village trattorias, on a bruschetta of homemade toasted bread — simple and unbeatable. During the olive harvest in October and November, the village smells of fresh green must.

The sunset of Fornelli

One of Fornelli's most discreet pleasures is waiting for sunset at the belvedere on the southern side of the village: the raking light illuminates the olive groves, the bell towers of Isernia in the distance, and the peaks of the Matese in the background. There's no specific festival dedicated to this spectacle, but every evening, in any season, it's worth the detour. Fornelli is about 12 kilometers from Isernia.