Abruzzo and Molise Uncharted

31/03/2024

La Madonna Che Scappa in Sulmona Easter morning. An amazing celebration of Mary seeing her risen son and running towards him.

30/03/2024

30/03/2024

Good Friday procession in Sulmona, Abruzzo

21/01/2024

Fabulous trattoria in Vasto, Trattoria da Peppe, run by husband and wife in historic building with 2nd C Roman wall. True casalinga presentation; pasta made to order, grilled meats on open charcoal grill. In centro storico and not to be missed.

28/09/2023

An incredible visit to Azienda Emidio Pepe, an iconic winemaker in Abruzzo. Still run as a family business, every aspect of their winemaking process is done by hand, including sorting and de-stemming. Grapes still crushed by foot. Also an agriturismo with accomodations, they offer a sensational dinner with wine pairings using all their own agricultural products. A special place

20/06/2023

The Festa dei Banderesi in Bucchianico(Abruzzo) is an ancient festival dedicated to St. Urbano that dates to the 14th century. The origins are a dispute between Bucchianico and nearby Chieti. According to the legend, St. Urbano went to the Sargeant of the militia in a dream and suggested that he use the men of the town to circle the city's walls wearing red and blue armbands with a plume of colored feathers to give the illusion to the advancing Chieti army that there was a great force to defend the town. It worked and the Chieti army retreated.
Today, the women of the town make beautiful crepe flowers that are carried in baskets on their heads to commerate this event. The participants range from young girls to older women. The men build wagons related to rural life(bread, bed, food, wine). Each year a family is chosen at random from a hat(it must be a large extended family) to host the event. As part of their responsibilities, they provide food throughout the year to people who stop by their home, including a traditional veal stew breakfast the day of the event.
This is an incredible, non touristy colorful event that involves the whole community of Bucchianico. In the videos, notice the traditional chanting and the host family for this year's event on the stage in period costume.

09/03/2023

View from Castello in Termoli. Beautiful day in Molise with snow covered mountains in distance and a classic trabocco in the foreground

07/03/2023

The Carnevale of Larino in Molise. Very colorful allegorical floats, music, dancing as well as great street food. A "must do" in Molise during Carnevale season

20/01/2023

The Farchie festival in Fara Filiorum Petri takes place on January 16 to honor Sant'Antonio Abate who saved the town from the invading French army in 1799, by turning the forest into burning trees. The Farchie, which are 10m tall and still tied together by hand, symbolically represent this event. Each contrada of Fara Filiorum Petri transport the Farchie to the staging area, some still carried in by hand, accompanied by music. As was traditionally done, the Farchie are raised by hand using old ladders and V shaped poles. When dark, they are lit on fire using fireworks attached to the Farchie. The festival likely has pagan roots, where fire was a symbol of purification and protection from evil. An incredible historical event that celebrates one of the great traditions of Abruzzo.

12/12/2022

'Ndocciata di Agnone(Molise, Italy)
An amazing evening in Agnone to witness the annual ancient Christmas festival that dates back to pagan times where it was linked to the winter solstice. It was later adopted by Christianity in the 800's to celebrate the Light that shines in darkness. The "ndocce" are white radial pine structures that are set abalze and carries through the streets of the town by children(smaller structures) and adults(larger structures). The torches were traditionally used to light the path for peasants who walked from rural villages to Agnone for Midnight Mass. In medieval times iot was believed that the fires kept evil witches away. The event, which takes place the second Saturday of December and again on Christmas Eve has been recognized by the Italian Ministry of Culture for its adherence to tradition. An incredible event that lives in the hearts of Agnone's residents

20/11/2022

The beautiful city of Termoli in Molise with its Duomo and underground excavations where the remains of St. Timothy were discovered. The archeological find did not happen until the mid 1940's. A must visit if you are in Termoli.

12/11/2022

Cantina Cipressi in San Felice in Molise is well worth a visit. Claudio Cipressi has been the driving force behind the resurgence of Tintilia, a little known varietal from the area. We attended a 10 year vertical tasting which shows off the varietal and its age worthiness.

01/08/2022

For the wine lovers, a trip to visit Azienda Emidio Pepe is an extraordinary experience. He is a true icon of Italian wine and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. There are several rooms on the property and an excellent dinner paired with his wines. Do not miss the cellars

03/06/2022

Lago di Guardialfiera in Molise, about 18 miles northeast of Campobasso. originally built as a reservoir in the 1970's, it is surrounded by beautiful unspoiled countryside.

20/04/2022

Some pictures from the Easter festival in Sulmona called "La Madonna che Scappa". Mary runs(scappa) to meet the risen Christ at the other end of the piazza. Whether you are religious or not, this is an enduring tradition that is a "must see" in the city of Sulmona on Easter Sunday

15/03/2022

Mastro Tonino, from the beautiful village of Pretoro in Abruzzo, recently passed away at the age of 90. He had an incredible talent and passion for re-creating great monuments of the world in wood models, all done in his small workshop. In a world of commercialization, he never sold any of his pieces. If you find yourself in the Pretoro area of Abruzzo you can see some of his art in a small museum in town on Via S.Andrea 19. Not to be missed

26/02/2022

Tamburino, a true country dog, sitting in his favorite spot on the tractor in Mafalda, a small hilltop town in Northern Molise

26/02/2022

The beautiful hilltop town of Montenero di Bisaccia in Northern Molise, about 15 minutes to the Adriatic seen in the background. The town, home to about 7,000 inhabitants, has a beautiful historic center great for exploring. Molise is a stunning, undiscovered and unspoiled area of Italy that we just love exploring.