Discover Agnone, Capracotta and Pescopennataro: charming towns of Northern Molise

It’s hard to compete with neighbours such as Abruzzo, Lazio, Campania, and Puglia. But because of that, Molise offers something that the other regions do not: it is still completely undiscovered and authentic. Tourism is undeveloped here. The rare tourist who manages to find their way to Molise does so for nature – the region offers beautiful hiking trails and cultural experiences, like farm stays, and activities like hunting.

At first glance, with just five thousand people Agnone may seem like a sleepy village, but make no mistake - Agnone was once one of the most important cities in Italy. The village gained status under the influence of the powerful Venetian Borello family, who established a castle here and sent soldiers and craftsmen to inhabit the town. Agnone grew as a town of crafts, partly because of bronze production.

One of those crafts was making church bells. The Marinelli Bell Foundry is the oldest in the world, founded in 1040. Nowadays, it is both an active bell foundry and a museum. I walk in and am welcomed by a young Italian man standing behind the cash register, explaining the little clocks on the counter to two Italian tourists. I later find out he's a member of the Marinelli family. It makes the bell foundry the second oldest family business in the world.

In Agnone, there is plenty to see, but the most important gift is the people. I have rarely met people as welcoming as here. Maybe it's the fact that they're happy to see tourists, or maybe it's just part of who they are. To give you an example, when I get to the bell foundry without a reservation for a tour, I'm not turned away – no, that’s not how things are done in Agnone.

Instead, they call someone to give me an English tour. Payment is out of the question because they’ll give me the ‘short tour’. My tour guide apologizes: “Sorry, there is a longer tour going on right now, but it's in Italian”. And so I am given a free, private tour. They have no idea I'm a journalist. This is just their nature here.

I step into the workshop, and my eyes widen. To my left are several bells in various stages of completion and sizes. “The bigger the bell, the lower the note it strikes,” the tour guide explains to me. I am very aware that I am in the middle of history, witnessing a process that has been carried out for more than a thousand years. I listen to the tour guide explain as I watch the craftsman smear grey clay over the mould with his bare hand. Moments later, he pours a bag of coal into the inside of the mould, which is needed to heat things up. A cloud of black carbon billows and dissipates in the air. A little further on, a fire burns in the oven.

The bell foundry still uses traditional methods to cast the bells. A conscious choice, that's how they've always done it and that's how the tradition is preserved. The bell-casting process takes three months, the tour guide tells me, as he leads me to the artist's workshop. From head to toe, the walls are covered with moulds for the wax decorations. “The only part of the process that we can reuse”.

The tour of an active workshop feels intimate. When you see the craftsmen working on the clocks, you understand why traditions must be preserved. With industrialization, workmanship and knowledge are lost. Of course, it brings things in return, but it destroys authenticity - something Molise still has a lot of.

But the most special things about Agnone are not its beautiful sights, or even its valuable history. It's the fact that you feel welcome, even as a stranger. It's the tremendous kindness from locals who immediately embrace you, people who help you even if you don't speak the same language. The village is small enough that you constantly meet acquaintances, even as a tourist.

It all starts as soon as I arrive. In the evening, my travel companion and I walk through the quiet streets of Agnone, looking for somewhere to eat. Many bars and restaurants look closed. A young woman walks in front of us with a dog. We approach her for advice, and when she turns around, she throws her arms in the air and a cheerful: "Heyyyy!" follows. She turned out to be Luisa, the owner of B&B Casa Vacanza Diana, where we are staying. She shares tons of advice on where you can eat the best in the village.

The next day we are invited to visit the Mayor, Daniele Saia. He proudly tells us about Agnone's historical connection to Venice, why Agnone attracts so many Argentinian tourists (relatively many Agnonese have moved to Argentina in recent decades), and about the traditional festival of Ndocciata that takes place in December, attracting with no fewer than 30,000 attracts. During the festival, burning torches are carried through the streets, competing for who has the biggest and most beautiful ‘ndocce’.

A few hours later, I'm walking through downtown, hopping from one beautiful church to the next, stopping at a crosswalk. Who drives by and waves? The Mayor. The next day I stand breathlessly at a viewpoint enjoying the view of Agnone and the valley. I hear a stream of water flowing below. I admire the farms and forests with beautiful autumn colours in the valley. Here and there the meadows are interrupted by small vineyards.

When I turn around, I look into the beaming eyes of Antonio, my library tour guide on the previous day. He lives near the viewpoint and starts to enthusiastically explain to me in Italian that he recognized me and wanted to come and say hello, and whether I would like to stop by at his house? I thank him with many “grazie” before continuing my visit.

Speaking of the library of the Church and Convent of San Francesco: it is one of the most important archives in Italy. It is a former monastery, and the collection illustrates the development of printing. Guide Antonio talks about the subject with such passion, knowledge, and love that it is impossible not to get excited about the display cases full of beautiful old parchments and books. If you don’t find that impressive, then the beautiful hand-painted wooden ceilings with baroque religious images will touch you: they are stunning.

Top 5 things not to miss in Capracotta

1. Church of Santa Maria in Cielo Assunta: This is the main church in Capracotta, most likely built at the start of the 15^th century. In 1657 it was completely rebuilt during construction works that took 80 years.
2. Piogo dei Grilli: From the Belvedere next to the church you have beautiful sweeping views over the valley
3. Monumento all’Emigrante: This statue of a family with the father holding a suitcase represents the many families who had to leave Molise to find their future elsewhere.
4. Giardino di Flora Appenninica: This botanical garden holds many local plant species from the Apennines and has a stunning view over Capracotta.
5. Prato Gentile: This is the cross-country ski center, with 15 km of trails that vary in difficulty.

On top of a mountain lies the town of Capracotta. Capracotta feels like a wonderful surprise, after driving along a scenic road up and with the most special views over the valley. You will pass trees with yellow and red foliage, before reaching a quiet village. Be sure to visit the cathedral, where my favourite thing was the abstract paintings depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. Enjoy the beautiful view from the viewpoint next to the church, then leave for the botanical garden. Here you will find local plant species from the Apennines, as well as being able to enjoy a spectacular view of Capracotta.

From Agnone and Capracotta you can easily drive to a beautiful waterfall called Cascate del Verrino. We were told that it was not well marked, but we were able to find it pretty easily. There are signs all over the road, and from the parking lot, it is less than a five-minute walk to the waterfall. You hear the waterfall right away. You can then follow the hiking trail to a higher viewpoint. We had the waterfall completely to ourselves.

Top 5 things not to miss in Pescopennataro

1. Church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo: This well-maintained church stands halfway on a hill. It is dedicated to St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.
2. Viewpoint: From the church, a steep road leads up the hill, where you will find a stunning viewpoint over the valley. In the distance you’ll see the Adriatic sea.
3. Town Centre: Take a stroll through the slow and empty streets of Pescopennataro, peek into Church of Madonna della Grazie, and stop by the local grocery store to pick up a picnic.
4. Eremo di San Luca: According to legend this used to be a place of rest for Saint Luke, now it’s a small cave chapel that’s worth a visit due to its unique look.
5. Museo Della Pietra “Chiara Marinelli”: This museum was founded in 2006 and shows the local tradition of stone processing, where in 1700 an artistic school of stonemasons was established.

Two people from a big city arrive in a small village, and decide to have lunch there. In theory that shouldn't be a problem, but when we enter Pescopennataro it turns out that reality is different. Everything is 'chiuso', not a single restaurant (or church, or other monument, for that matter) is open. My traveling companion suggests a picnic. And so, we walk to the local grocery store.

The owner of the shop is just driving away with his car, but stops when he sees us coming, curious to see these two strangers strolling through his village on a weekday afternoon. He makes us two sandwiches, adds some fruit, and points to the church on the hill. “You can have a nice picnic there”, he says. And so we do. With a bag of food, we climb the hilltop. That is a tough, but short climb. And at the top of the hill, we indeed have a beautiful view of the surrounding hills, valley, and even the sea.

As we drive out of Pescopennataro we stumble upon a little church carved into the side of a mountain. We stop and decide to go in. It turns out to be Eremo di San Luca: a cave church. The door to the hermitage is open, so we go in to find an abandoned room. Through the doors we see a little altar with a female statue. Just behind it is a more modern church, which is closed during our visit. We follow the trail for a minute or two, until we are rewarded with a beautiful view of the Sangro valley.

According to tradition, this place provided rest and refuge for Saint Luke on his travels from Rome to Palestine, delivering letters for Saint Paul. Due to absence of information we’ll never know if this is true, but what is true is that hermits have lived here in solitude, proven by the fireplace and wooden upper mezzanine which would have been used as a home.

Useful information
Best time to go: the best time to truly enjoy Italy’s slow village life is outside of the high season. It’s best to avoid August when it’s busy with tourists, and come in the shoulder seasons instead. Autumn is especially beautiful, when all the trees turn yellow and red.

How to get there: the best way to get to Agnone is to rent a car, this allows you to easily access the waterfall and nearby villages. Agnone is about a one-hour drive from Campobasso. There’s also a one-hour bus from Isernia. Capracotta and Pescopennataro lie approximately a 25-minute and 20-minute drive from Agnone. There is a bus that runs between Pescopennataro and Agnone, as well as Capracotta and Agnone. Both take roughly thirty minutes.