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Identity and administration

Two provinces (Campobasso and Isernia), ordinary statute, a region since 1963. Law 482/1999 minorities: Croats of Acquaviva Collecroce, Montemitro and San Felice del Molise; Arbëreshë of Campomarino, Montecilfone, Portocannone and Ururi. Festivals: Misteri of Campobasso (Corpus Christi), San Basso in Termoli.

Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays

Campobasso – capital Campobasso (seat of the Region)
Isernia – capital Isernia (province created in 1970)

Statute and minorities

Molise is a region with an ordinary statute, the youngest in Italy together with Abruzzo, from which it separated under constitutional law 3/1963. It hosts two historical linguistic minorities protected by law 482/1999: the Croatian (na-našu) community of Acquaviva Collecroce, Montemitro and San Felice del Molise, descended from Dalmatian refugees of the 15th–16th centuries, and the Arbëreshë (Albanian) community of Campomarino, Montecilfone, Portocannone and Ururi. Molisan dialects are of the intermediate southern type, with Abruzzese features in the north and Campanian-Apulian features in the south.

Campobasso: San Giorgio, 23 April; Procession of the Misteri on Corpus Christi Sunday, with thirteen shoulder-borne structures (the Ingegni of Paolo Saverio Di Zinno)
Isernia: San Pietro Celestino, 19 May; Onion Fair on 28–29 June
Termoli: San Basso, 3–4 August, with a procession at sea
Agnone: 'Ndocciata, 8 and 24 December, parade of large torches
Larino: San Pardo, 25–27 May, with the procession of ox-drawn carts
Transhumance along the tratturi drove roads, listed as UNESCO intangible heritage (2019, extended in 2023)

Population

Regional figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Popolazione residente al 1° gennaio (dataflow 22_289, DCIS_POPRES1)

287,814people