Campania
Campania is generally celebrated for its climate, the fertility of the land and the astonishingly beautiful landscapes. Its artistic and cultural heritage, together with its world famous cuisine, makes it one of the most appreciated regions of Italy at home and abroad.
Naples is its regional capital and the third largest city of Italy after Rome and Milan. The city was the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and a great European capital up until the unification of Italy. Today it is still an important artistic and cultural centre and a very dynamic city filled with palaces, churches, convents, monasteries and museums. Its rich history is visible in the urban structure, which shows the sign of a city built over many centuries that embraces cultures from the Greek-Roman era to the Baroque period, passing through the influences of the Medieval, Angevins, Shavians, Spanish and French dominations. Other important cities in the region are Amalfi, Sorrento, Caserta, Salerno, Avellino. Capri, Sorrento, Pompei, Paestum, Caserta are world-famous destinations.
The region has a rich and varied nature, it is famous for the two beautiful gulfs of Naples and Salerno, separated by the Sorrento peninsula, which have a variety of high cliffs, sandy bays, grottoes and islands. The Costiera Amalfitana and the islands, Ischia, Procida and Capri, are the pearls of the coast and the main tourist attractions. The rest of the territory is mostly gentle hills, apart from the Matese mountains and the rugged Irpinia area, and the Vesuvius, on the Gulf of Naples, is one of the very few still active volcanoes in Europe.
Tourism clearly plays an important part in the regional economy but craftsmanship is also important especially for coral and mother of pearl jewellery, wood carving, painted ceramics and precious textiles, as well as the traditionally made classic Neapolitan nativity scene. Agriculture is mostly intensive, although cattle breeding and fishing are declining. Some interesting technological hubs include the aeronautics and aerospace technological centres which have developed in that area in and around Caserta, cybernetics in Pozzuoli, and genetics, biophysics and biotechnology in Naples.
Very often the food of Campania is also a symbol of Italian cuisine at large. One just has to think of the ubiquitous pizza, the buffalo mozzarella and other cheeses, and spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil. Famous are also the sweets of the region, the "pastiera" (traditional Easter cake), "sfogliatelle" (ricotta-filled pastry) and “baba†are some of the best loved local dishes.
As for the wine, traditionally the wines of Campania are intended for immediate pleasure and consumption, however, things have changed over the past decade and the overall quality of the product is increasing. For example, in the Taurasi DOCG area, a handful of winemakers have been pro-actively producing notable reds and whites that have acquired national respect. Traditionally, the best-known Campania wine is the Lacrima Christi or, “Tears of Christâ€.
Molise
Thanks to its green landscape Molise is considered to be the "clean heart of Italy". It is situated in a mountainous area of Central Italy between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea and is considered one of the most important green areas in Europe. The territory is characterised by high plains, valleys and peaks.
It is one of the smallest Italian regions, just slightly larger than Valle d'Aosta, and it is also the youngest one since it was established only in 1963, when the region "Abruzzi e Molise" was split into two regions.
The regional capital is Campobasso, a centre of medieval origin,which was part of the Lombard Duchy of Benevento and between the 11th and 17th centuries, shared the fortunes of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, until it was united with the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. The city was built round a hill with the Castello Monforte on its crest. In the oldest part of the town, are the splendid sixteenth century church of Sant'Antonio Abate and the Romanesque churches of San Giorgio and San Bartolomeo. Other regional centres are Isernia, Termoli and Agnone.
The region's economy relies heavily on agriculture and livestock breeding, and is renown for the quality of the grain, milk, oil and wine it produces. Industry is concentrated in the districts of Isernia, Campobasso and Termoli. The region has an ancient tradition of silver and goldsmithing especially in Campobasso and Agnone. The world famous 'Pontificia fonderia Marinelli', is still active in Agnone, and passes down the centuries-old art of bell casting. Just as famous are the steelworks of Campobasso and Frosolone.
Molise is the primary producer of white truffles in Europe while its flourishing cheese industry provides dairy products sold all over Italy. Amongs the most prominent cheeses are the caciocavallo from Agnone, the pecorino and scamorza while part of the Caciocavallo Silano DOP is in Molise. Its "Soppressate", which are a kind of pork salami cured naturally, are the pride of local tradition and prosciutto is either salt cured or smoked. In the hills lamb and mutton are also very popular, along with pork for sausages.
Regional dishes include: Abbuoti, envelopes of lamb intestines filled with chopped liver, sweetbreads, hardboiled egg and baked; Baccalá alla cantalupese, salt cod cooked with peppers, capers, black olives, grapes, garlic; Pezzata: ewe stewed with tomato, onion, rosemary and hot peppers; Polenta maritata: slices of cornmeal fried in oil with garlic, layered with a filling of red beans and peperoncini and baked in the oven, a specialty of Isernia; Zuppa di ortiche: soup of early spring nettle sprouts cooked with tomato and bacon.
There are just three DOC wines produced in Molise — the Biferno, Molise and Pentro.
