Molise · Campobasso
Montenero di Bisaccia
A tufa hill town above the northernmost stretch of Molise coast, home base of former magistrate Antonio Di Pietro and his vineyards.
Known for
WINE & OIL
Hills around the village hold the Città del Vino mark and Antonio Di Pietro's 24-hectare oil and wine estate.
COSTA VERDE
Long pine-backed beach below the village, the northernmost stretch of the Molise coast.
SAN MATTEO
Parish church on the tufa rock at the top of the village, its bell tower visible from the Adriatic coast road.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Matteo, 21 September
Why come
Montenero di Bisaccia sits on a tufa relief, on the northern edge of Molise where the region meets Abruzzo. The Chiesa di San Matteo Apostolo crowns the rock, its bell tower visible from the coast road below. The Costa Verde beach, six kilometers down from the village, gives the commune its summer draw, with low dunes and pine groves backing the sand.
Antonio Di Pietro, the magistrate who prosecuted the Mani Pulite cases of the 1990s and went on to lead Italia dei Valori, was born and farms here; after politics he returned to a 24-hectare family holding inherited from his father and now produces olive oil and wine with his son Cristiano. The Città del Vino designation tracks that wine tradition. The hills around the village were also recorded by Serafino Razzi in 1576 as one of the Slav-influenced settlements of lower Molise.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Montenero di Bisaccia’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Chiesa di San Matteo Apostolo
Parish church on the tufa rock at the top of the village, its bell tower the visible marker from the coast.
Centro storico
Stone old town spread along the tufa ridge, with narrow streets and views east to the Adriatic.
Costa Verde
Long sand beach six kilometers below the village, backed by pine groves and low dunes.
Belvedere
Lookout from the ridge with the long sweep of Molise coast, the Tremiti islands offshore, and the Maiella to the north.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 6,174
- Off the beaten pathi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 32 min drive
- Regional capital Campobasso, 1 h 18 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 273 m
- Population: 6,174
- Surface area: 93.32 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Montenero di Bisaccia
Petacciato
Province: Campobasso
A hilltop village at 225 meters on the Adriatic, with a Romanesque church in tuff and sandstone and a long sand beach below.
Guglionesi
Province: Campobasso
A 369-meter hill town between the Biferno and Trigno valleys, founded by the Frentani in the fifth century BC and looking out toward the Adriatic.
Termoli
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Molise's only port, a walled promontory of fishermen's houses on the Adriatic with a Frederick II castle and the ferry pier for the Tremiti islands.
Vasto
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At 144 meters on a hill above the Adriatic, southern anchor of the Costa dei Trabocchi, home of the brodetto vastese invented in 1800.
Roccavivara
Province: Campobasso
A 652-meter village above the Trigno river valley, home to the Romanesque Santuario della Madonna del Canneto with its 1223 ambone and 14th-century gothic Madonna del Sorriso.
🍷 Città del Vino
More Città del Vino towns
Città Sant'Angelo
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A hilltop borgo at 320 meters between the Vestina hills and the Adriatic, named for the Archangel and known since 1352 as a Collegiata seat.
Controguerra
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A 267-meter Val Vibrata wine village, seat of the Controguerra DOC since 1996, and a founding Cittaslow of the Teramo hills.
Crecchio
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A 209-meter hill town between the Adriatic and the Maiella, capital of Italy for one night in 1943 when the king slept in its castle.
Loreto Aprutino
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A hilltop town at 290 meters in the Aprutino olive country, with a fourteenth-century Judgment fresco and a Castelli majolica collection.
Miglianico
Province: Chieti
A wine hill town at 125 meters between Pescara and the Adriatic, with the sanctuary of San Pantaleone above an unbroken horizon of vineyards.