Molise ( , ;) is an administrative region of Italy that covers , thus being the second smallest region in the country after Aosta Valley; it is located in southern Italy, and has a population of 285,940 as of 2026. Its regional capital and largest city is Campobasso, which is also the capital of the Province of Campobasso, one of the two provinces that make up Molise. The other one is the Province of Isernia.
The region was born in 1963 from the division with Abruzzo, with which it formed the region of Abruzzi e Molise.
Etymology The name Molise appeared for the first time during the High Middle Ages as the name of a Norman county located roughly in the territory between the comuni of Torella del Sannio and Duronia, both in Molise. The county's name came from the name of the family that governed it, the de' Moulins.
History
Prehistory
Evidence found in the archeological site of Isernia La Pineta shows that Molise was inhabited as far back as the Paleolithic period. In this specific site traces of human presence dating up to 700 000 years ago were found, making Isernia La Pineta one of the most ancient and important sites in Italy and Western Europe. The fossil of a child who lived 583 000 years ago was found here, too, alongside the remains of animals and plants.A Human Deciduous Tooth and New 40Ar/39Ar Dating Results from the Middle Pleistocene Archaeological Site of Isernia La Pineta, Southern Italy
Pre-Roman and Roman era Before the Romans arrived, Molise was part of the historical region of Samnium, and was thus inhabited by populations of samnite heritage. The tribe of the Penti settled around the 7th century BC the area that is today comprehended in the city of Isernia and the country around Campobasso, having frequent contacts with the Frentani, an Italic tribe that descended from the Samnites. Since the 4th century BC, the Roman Republic's expansionist aspiration caused the Samnites to collide with the Romans. This contact eventually sparked the Samnite Wars.
During the Second and the Third Samnite War the major cities such as Isernia and Bojano, which had been the Pentri's capital, were captured by the Romans, although the Samnites were completely defeated and their territory was effectively conquered only after Sulla won the Social War. Under Augustus Molise's territory was placed under the Regio IV Samnium.
Middle Ages Molise's economy and demographics declined greatly during the late antiquity, and when the Lombards arrived they found the region to be not densely populated and lacking of important urban centers.
Under the Duchy of Benevento Molise was divided into gastaldates. In his Historia Langobardorum, Paul the Deacon writes that one of these gastaldates was the Gastaldate of Bojano, created around 667 AD by Grimoald I, King of the Lombards, who gave it in concession to the bulgarian commander Alzeco.
Many of the towns and villages of the region were founded under the Lombard domination, and the Lombards were also responsible in the diffusion of the cult of Saint Michael.
Between the 9th and the 11th century Molise was then ruled by the Normans. In 1045 Rudolf of Moulins descendend in southern Italy alongside the Hauteville family, conquering what then became the County of Bojano. In this period of time, the area was starrting to be called comitatus molisii probably because of the Moulins', the ruling family's, name. After the Moulins lost power around the end of the 11th century, the County organically dismantled in smaller fiefs.
After the reforms made by Frederick II, the Contado di Molise became the seat of a justiciarate of which the administration was conjoined with that of the Terra di Lavoro, forming a single administrative district: the Justitiaratus Molisii et Terra Laboris.
Modern era In 1538 Molise was separated from the Terra di Lavoro and integrated within the Capitanata, until in 1806 Joseph Bonaparte extended the French administrative model, based on provinces, to the Kingdom of Naples. In 1811, the borders of the provinces had been practically totally defined, and the Province of Molise's territory reached roughly the area that it has today.
From 1817 the Province went through a crisis because of the presence on the territory of phenomena of brigandage.
Geography
Molise has a surface area of , and it is bordered by Abruzzo to the north, Apulia to the east, Lazio to the west, and Campania to the south. It has of sandy coastline to the northeast, lying on the Adriatic Sea looking out toward the Tremiti Islands. The countryside of Molise is mostly mountainous, with 55% covered by mountains and most of the rest by hills that go down to the sea.
Orography and terrain Molise's territory is mostly mountainous, and the mountainous area spans between the Appennino campano and the Appennino sannita, both tracts of the much longer mountain range of the Apennines. The region also features the Monti della Meta, a minor massif that defines the border between Molise, Lazio and Abruzzo, the Monti delle Mainarde and the Monti del Matese, both minor mountain chains.
Hydrography Part of the border between Molise and Abruzzo is defined by the course of the Trigno, and part of the border between Molise and Apulia (Province of Foggia) is defined by there course of the Fortore. Other important rivers are the Biferno and the Sangro. The Volturno, the main river in southern Italy in terms of length and basin size, and the Tammaro originate in Molise. The region is in general very rich in water resources.
Molise does not have on its territory natural lakes of relevant size. The biggest lakes in the region are the Lago di Guardialfiera and the Lago di Occhito, both artificial lakes, the latter being shared with Apulia.
Climate The climate of Molise can be classified with the Köppen climate classification as Mediterranean. Temperature gets lower significantly in the inland.
Demographics As of 2026, the population is 285,940, of which 49.7% are male, and 50.3% are female. Minors make up 12.8% of the population, and seniors make up 27.8%.
At 64.1 inhabitants per km2, the population density of Molise is far below the national density of 195.1. The region covers 1.5% of Italy's territory and less than 1% of its population. Out of the region's 2 provinces, the larger province in terms of area is Campobasso at , while the smaller is Isernia at . The province of Campobasso is the more densely populated of the two provinces, with 71.0 inhabitants per km2, whereas Isernia registers 51.0 inhabitants per km2.
In the period 1951–71, large-scale emigration to other countries of the European Union, to other parts of Italy and overseas led to a significant decline in the population of Molise. Negative net migration persisted until 1981. Large-scale emigration has caused many of the smaller towns and villages to lose over 60% of their population, while only a small number of larger towns have recorded significant gains. From 1982 to 1994, net migration has been positive, then followed by a negative trend until 2001. Between 2011 and 2021, the population decreased by 6.9%.
The region is home to two main ethnic minorities: the Molisan Croats (20,000 people who speak an old Dalmatian dialect of Croatian alongside Italian), and those who speak the Arbëresh dialect of Albanian in five towns of "basso Molise" in the province of Campobasso.
Immigration As of 2025, immigrants make up 9.4% of the population. The 5 largest foreign countries of birth are Romania, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, and Morocco.
+Foreign population by country of birth (2025)Country of birthPopulation2,9212,9082,1782,0961,5611,217897798761719707686663629560
Government and politics
Administrative divisions Molise is subdivided into two provinces:
ProvincePopulation (2026)Area (km2)Density (inh./km2)Municipalities Province of Campobasso 207,723 2,925.41 71.084 Province of Isernia 78,217 1,535.24 51.052 Main sights and monuments
Campobasso
Castello Monforte Terzano Tower Campobasso Cathedral (Santissima Trinità) Castello Cercemaggiore Church of Sant'Antonio Church of San Bartolomeo Church of San Giorgio Savoia Theater San Giorgio Palace (Head of municipality) Provincial Museum of "Sanniti"
Isernia
Isernia Cathedral (San Pietro) Fountain Fraterna Monumental complex and museum of Santa Maria delle Monache Abbey Sanctuary of Santi Cosma e Damiano Archeological site Isernia La Pineta Museum of Paleolithic in the site of La Pineta Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise Termoli
Cathedral of San Basso from Lucera Medieval castle of Frederick II Sinarca Tower Rinascimental Gallery Museum Monumento dei Caduti Statues of Benito Jacovitti and Girolamo la Penna
Venafro Castle Pandone Venafro Cathedral Archeogical Museum of Venafro War Museum Winterline Venafro
Province of Campobasso
Trivento Cathedral Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (Guglionesi) Santuario di Santa Maria del Canneto (Roccavivara) Caldora Castle (Carpinone) Castle Anjou (Civitacampomarano) Longobard Castle (Tufara) Bojano Cathedral (San Bartolomeo) Medieval fortress Civita Superiore (Bojano) Angioina Tower (Colletorto) Larino Cathedral Archeological site and Roman theater of Larinum (Larino) Archeological site and museum of Altilia (Sepino) Italic sanctuary of San Pietro dei Cantoni (Sepino) Megalithic wall of Saipins (Terravecchia zone – Sepino) Church of Santa Maria della Strada (Matrice) Guardialfiera old town Capua castle (Gambatesa)
Province of Isernia Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno (Castel San Vincenzo) Marinelli Bells Factory and Museum (Agnone) Theatre and Italic temple in the archeological site of Pietrabbondante Parish church and belfry of Saint Silvestro (Bagnoli del Trigno) Bagnoli del Trigno (The pearl of Molise) Rupestrian church of Pietracupa Church of Sant'Antonio Abate (Pietracupa) Capracotta Neogothic basilica of Santa Maria Addolorata (Castelpetroso) Venafro Cathedral Castle Pandone (Venafro) Castle Pandone (Cerro al Volturno) Abbey of Santa Maria del Carmelo (Roccavivara) Castle D'Alessandro (Pescolanciano) Colli a Volturno Fornelli
Culture
Molise has much tradition from the religious to the pagan, many museums, archeological sites, musical and food events.
Tradition The Festival dei Misteri in Campobasso (Corpus Domini) Feast of Saint Pardo with ox chariot (cart) in Larino (25-26-27/May) Ox chariots (La Carrese) and feast of Saint Leo in San Martino in Pensilis (30 April and 2 May) The Ndocciata of Agnone (8-24/December) The Saint Basso feast in Termoli with procession of boats on the sea (4 August) "U lut'm sab't d'April" of Santa Croce di Magliano with benediction of animals (Last Saturday of April) Procession of Good Friday in Campobasso The procession of hooded on the Good Friday at Isernia The fire of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Colletorto (17 January) The feast of Saint Nicandro in Venafro (17 June) The ox chariots and feast in the village of Ururi and Portocannone The feast of San Biagio in San Biase (3 February), with the traditional game of the Morra and the distribution of Bread to all the inhabitants
Arts, musical and food festivals The international bagpipe festival of Scapoli in July The "Pezzata" of Capracotta the first Sunday of August The fish festival of Termoli in August The Staffoli Horses in August close Agnone The grape feast of Riccia in September The grain feast of Jelsi on 26 July The international festival of folk in the Matese in San Massimo The exhibition of black truffle in San Pietro Avellana The carnival of Larino in February "Gl' Cierv" in the carnival of Castelnuovo del Volturno the last Sunday of February
Museums National museum of paleolithic in Isernia Monumental complex and museum of Santa Maria delle Monache in Isernia Museum of "Tombolo" in Isernia Provincial museum of Samnium in Campobasso Museum of Zampogna (Bagpipe) in Scapoli Antiquarium of Saepinum-Altilia in Sepino