MOLISE, THE PLACE YOU JUST DIDN'T THINK OF

 Ok, we're approaching autumn and I thought of one of the most unlucky places in Italy: Molise. Famous for the massive migration, the pasta (no wonder) and as the birth place of political figure Antonio Di Pietro, who has been asking pretty much everyday in the last 3 years for Berlusconi to quit his role as prime minister. This said, Molise is one of the most isolated, marginalised areas of Italy.

 It's very unlikely you will even have a chance to go to this town, which is named Pietracatella. I happen to know it just because I have some relatives there. Basically Molise is made of mountains, and the towns are either in the valley, like Molise's capital Campobasso ("Kamp bash", as said in the local dialect) or on the moutains. Meaning: more isolation in an already isolated region. All the old houses of the so-called "nobles" though are still there untouched, as Pietracatella has known little war to destroy it, little tourism to restore it. It's there, like many other towns in Italy (outside of Tuscany), abandoned to itself but with a certain charme due to its sporadic history. In fact, I think the charme of towns like this is their being in between a "favela" and a small (unknown) medieval kingdom.

 The most interesting fact to think about when it comes to southern Italy, is the fact that most of it wasn't Italy until the unification in the second half of the 19th century. Borbonic kingdom, local noble families turned into rural dynasties, and cyclical migrations are just as home in Pietracatella as in many other southern places. The buildings are gray'ing, the cement based restoring of the '60s led the way to a mix between past and present, in a typical italian fashion: never build a new idea, always fix the old one.

 Like this, tradition is the richness of this and other places where you can find an unfinished wall forever to stay that way. On the other hand, folklore does manifest itself in particular moments, like Christmas, or weddings, where the locals strive to give the best party ever. All the local youths are involved in music, dance and the fiesta which has been the trait d'union between greek and roman and so on..

 Anyway, it would be unfair to say that Molise has nothing to offer except for melancholia and Sturm und Drang, but this don't seem so bad if you come to think of it. If you go to Molise it's very likely you can be the only tourist in town for the last months, years, even decades, and in some cases, centuries. If you add to this that Molise is on the way to Campania across the Appennines from the Adriatic side to the Tirrenium, then yes, you might find interesting to think of actually exploring a bit Molise.

One thing you should remember is that regions are a relatively new "invention" in Italy, as they were created only in 1971. Which for Italy, it goes without saying, is pretty much more than contemporary, postmodernist. Anyway, the real area which you might be interested to think about is "Il Sannio", which actually includes parts of neighbouring Campania, especially the province of Benevento (where my parents come from, by the way). So I might be partial, and I surely am, but the "Sanniti" people did leave some pretty cool legends, ruins, and.. facial features. However, farmers in Molise and most of Sannio are a bit suspicious of cameras (at least the modern ones) so I had to settle for a picture of the ennnormous windmills in the area. Enjoy..

If you really liked the windmills and feel like some more Sturm und Drang, don't forget to waste your time with this atopic (unlikely) video below:

BRESCIA: BOURGEOIS, CUTE, SURPRISING

 After Venice and Florence you would expect Rome.. we went to Sardinia already, where you can find the best sea, then to Abruzzo where the most amazing Appennines are waiting (so to speak..) to be explored. Here we are now in the valleys that face to the Alps, in the city of Brescia, Lombardia region.

 Yeah right Lombardia is where George Clooney has the villa (in Como, north of Milan), the place of Caravaggio (from the town of Caravaggio.. his real name is Michelangelo Merisi). Now this said, Lombardia is the most crowded, by far richest region of Italy. Does that explain why you will never know enough about Lombardia? It's huge, big variety, ranging from small scale jewel Mantova (town of Virgil.. the poet) to Bergamo or Milan, town of mr Berlusconi.. argh.

 Anyway, Brescia is often misunderstood and underestimated, as it was a very very important roman city, in fact the biggest roman city in northern Italy. However, Brescia is famous in italian proverb-size culture as "La Leonessa", the female lion, for its stern pride in battle, especially in the sake of uniting Italy 150 years ago against the Austrians, which dominated this part of Italy (Lombardia, Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia).

 Brescia is home to some of the richest, most notable families in Italy, and despite being a small city of only about 200.000 inhabitants is home to one of the biggest, longest present immigrant communities (33.000 residents in the city). The province of Brescia alone counts as much as almost 2 million people, which is more than the whole population of Marche. Anyway, it's a much more important place than it seems to the eye of a tourist (even an italian tourist).

 Mille Miglia race starts from Brescia, famous italian writer Aldo Busi (one of the few openly gay successfull intellectuals in Italy) and host to some year long amazing exhibition like last year's Museo Santa Giulia's exhibit dedicated to the Inca. Also, Brescia is famous for pope Paolo VI and for its mundane liberal catholic milieu. It's a place to buy shoes and eat nice food, enjoy the prettiness and then head on to the next step with a full belly and a nice smile on your face. Brescia, the lioness of Lombardia.

 Brescia and Bergamo, which are known to literally "detest" each other in typical italian style (all neighbours complain about each other no?) were both taken under domination of Venice in the 15th century, but in the long run I guess it did help to make them a bit more romantic and renaissance style. Anyway, Brescia is not the most amazing place you will ever see, but it's definitely not the industrial city some will portray. Try to ask them: "But have you ever been to Brescia anyway? Did you know it was the biggest roman colony in the north?" And you will receive as many "no" as your questions about Brescia. Few people know Brescia, those who do, like it.