The Pescasseroli-Candela droving trail of the transhumance, between Pietrabbondante and Sepino

Molise is the region Italians forget first, and its hilly interior is among the least visited places in Italy. That is exactly why it preserves something rare: the tratturi, the wide grassy routes along which for centuries the transhumance took place, the seasonal movement of flocks from the Abruzzo mountains to the pastures of Apulia. The one that crosses these lands and passes through Sepino is the Pescasseroli-Candela droving trail, a strip of grass tens of metres wide, protected since Aragonese times. Walking it today means crossing a landscape almost empty of people yet dense with history, where archaeology isn't shut away behind a ticket but scattered across the fields.

The Samnite sanctuary

An ideal starting point is Pietrabbondante, high up on the Molise Apennines. Here stands the most important sanctuary of the Samnites, the people who fought Rome for so long: a perfectly preserved limestone theatre, with anatomically shaped seats at the edges of the cavea, flanked by the remains of temples. The backdrop of mountains and the almost total silence make it one of the most striking and least visited archaeological sites in the Centre-South. From up here you descend towards the agricultural heart of Molise, among Agnone, the hills of Frosolone and villages perched on the crests.

The thread running through the journey is to follow, where it is still legible, the line of the tratturi that cross these villages, all the way to Sepino. Here, in the locality of Altilia, lies Saepinum, an extraordinary Roman city: walls almost intact with their monumental gates, the forum, the basilica, the theatre, the baths and the paved decumanus, all immersed in the countryside, with farmers' houses built inside and around the ruins. Saepinum arose precisely at the crossing of the droving trail and a Roman road, and it was a stop on the transhumance: it is the perfect way to close the circle between ancient shepherding and a buried city. The site is open and largely freely walkable, often with no other visitors.

Getting around

To get around you need a car, because public transport between these villages is rare and designed for residents. You reach inland Molise from the Adriatic A14 motorway, exiting towards Termoli and heading inland, or from Campobasso and Isernia, the region's two main towns, both connected to the inner road network. The roads between the villages are scenic but slow, with many bends. The walking itself is done on foot along the stretches of droving trail still open and on local paths: it's worth asking in the village or at the tourist offices which segments are passable, because some stretches have been swallowed by cultivated fields or by tarmac.

When to go

The right months are May, June and September. In spring the tratturi are green and in bloom, exactly as the shepherds found them on their climb, and the hill climate is cool; September offers golden light, grape harvests and temperatures still mild after the August heat. These periods avoid both the interior's winter frost, which is harsh here, and the midday summer swelter. In any case, crowds are not a problem: inland Molise has no mass tourism in any season, and you'll often have an entire archaeological site to yourself.

Practical tips

A practical tip: plan your stages around the villages' hours rather than the museums'. Many villages have a single bar or a single trattoria, which closes early, and stocking up on water and food before setting out is essential because along the tratturi you'll find nothing. It's worth stopping to talk with the elderly: many still have a direct memory of the transhumance and can tell you where the flocks passed better than any sign. Bring comfortable shoes, a hat and cash, because ATMs are scarce.

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