Between Agnone and Capracotta: a slow journey through Upper Molise

If you're looking for a place where silence is the first thing you notice, Upper Molise is hard to beat. This corner of mountains on the border with Abruzzo is among the most depopulated areas in Italy, with villages emptying out and a very low population density. What for the economy is a wound becomes, for the slow traveller, a rarity: empty roads, immense meadows, ancient woods and some of the darkest night skies on the peninsula. There's no mass tourism because there's barely any tourism at all: you come here on purpose to be far from everything.

Agnone

The reference village is Agnone, famous for an ancient craft: the casting of bells. Here is the seat of a historic pontifical foundry that for centuries has made bells shipped all over the world, and visiting its workshop and the attached museum is the best way to grasp the soul of the town. Agnone also preserves a compact old centre, with churches, beaten-copper workshops and the atmosphere of a town that was once wealthy and cultured. From here you climb towards the plateau, where the landscape changes: fields give way to pastures and beech forests.

Capracotta

The second hub is Capracotta, one of the highest municipalities in the Apennines, immersed in grazing meadows and woods. Nearby lies the Apennine Flora Garden, a mountain botanical garden that gathers the region's wild species and makes for a fine, peaceful educational stop. Capracotta is also known for its very snowy winters and for cross-country skiing, and it is home to Prato Gentile, a gentle plateau where in summer you walk among expanses of grass and sparse trees. Out of season the whole area is an ideal starting point for easy, contemplative walks, perfect for slow travel, where effort matters less than the desire to stop and listen. Between Agnone, Capracotta, Pescopennataro and Vastogirardi stretches the network of nature reserves that protects the ancient beech forests: some of these woods, like the one at Collemeluccio near Pescolanciano, are part of the UNESCO site of the Ancient Beech Forests of Europe, age-old forests where the trees have grown undisturbed for centuries. Walking within them, among enormous trunks and filtered light, is an experience worth the journey.

To get around you need a car. You reach Upper Molise by heading up from Isernia, the reference town, or by coming down from Abruzzo along the inner roads that connect the area to Agnone. Bus connections exist but are designed for residents, with few runs a day, so without your own vehicle it's very hard to get about. The roads are scenic, often deserted, but slow and winding, and in winter they can be snowed under. Between one village and another the distances seem short on the map but take time because of the hairpins.

When to go

The recommended months are June, July and August, and there's a precise reason. At these altitudes winter is long and harsh, with abundant snow, while summer opens the pastures to blooms and makes walks in the cool beech forests pleasant even when it's stifling elsewhere. The altitude keeps temperatures pleasant even in August, when the rest of Italy is scorching. And even though it's peak season elsewhere, here nothing changes: the trails stay empty, the villages quiet, and you can stroll for hours without crossing another walker.

Practical tips

A practical tip: in Upper Molise services are pared to the bone, so it's wise to stock up on fuel, cash and food in the larger centres, because in the small villages petrol stations and shops may be closed or absent. Check the opening hours of the Agnone foundry and the botanical garden well in advance, because outside peak periods they may be by appointment. Finally, make the most of the sky: with so little light pollution, a clear night here offers a Milky Way you can no longer see in the city.

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