Molise doesn't exist...?
The crazy story that Italians enjoy **telling jokes about Italy's youngest, smallest and least populated region** clashes head-on with its recent designation as one of the must-see places to visit in 2020, according to New York Times . And it is already known that he who laughs last, laughs best.
The Italian Lepe is called Molise . Naming the region sandwiched between **Abruzzo and Puglia ** to a group of Italians wanting to party almost certainly implies a round of jokes to make fun of their poor existence . Because although it sounds strange, Molise exists and does not exist.
Or so it is staged in the popular Italian joke that places this region in limbo . A real place that has transcended into the collective unconscious as a infallible reference to tell one joke after another.
Guglionesi, in Molise
"I MET A GUY IN MOLISE WHO WAS DOING HIS ERASMUS EXCHANGE YEAR IN ITALY"
It is just one of the many jokes that are hopelessly spread among Italians. A joke that has been told a thousand times an underworld of hoaxes, false lies and half-truths.
It's funny, but Molise's story strangely resembles everything that happened in Spain with the Huelva town of Lepe , a municipality massacred to jokes of all kinds with the leperos in the center of the target. Perhaps the main difference is that Molise has been able to take advantage of this strange popularity.
"IF YOU DIE IN MOLISE, DO YOU DIE IN REALITY TOO?"
We do not know if the journalist Enzo Luong knew about Lepe's case, but he took advantage of the wealth of Molise's popularity to publish the book Il Molise Non Esiste ("Molise does not exist"), which compiles all those prejudices emphasized on the net.
The presentation brought together the media from all over the country, with a mixture of curiosity and tenderness in equal parts. In the background, a common feeling: there is no problem making a joke about something very dear to you, but the joke stops being funny if it comes from a stranger outside.
“The book was born with a single objective: the to smile and caress the small strip of land, which sympathizes with everywhere in Italy , precisely for the simple fact of representing non-existence”, says the author.
Molise existed, exists and will become fashionable
"FIRST MIRACLE OF POPE FRANCIS: HE HAS LANDED IN MOLISE"
It all started as a game. The goal was recite by heart the twenty regions of the transalpine country , and hardly anyone remembered the youngest, smallest and least populated region of Italy. She was always the last on the list to be named If anyone remembered her.
A quick search on Google puts even more crumb to the matter. a supposed doctor Gregory Donald Johnson, Dr. says: "I have studied the geography of Italy for a long time, and I have come to the conclusion that no one remembers the capital of Molise, the typical dish of Molise, a popular song of Molise or even the dialect of this region. It can only be explained like this: Molise does not exist ".
Even this road sign is hidden because such a place is known to not exist!
Born in 1963 after the separation of Abruzzo , Molise maintains that patina of eternal unknown . Almost by spontaneous generation (which is how jokes go) the hashtag began to be used on social networks #ilmolisenonesiste (‘Molisse does not exist’) . It was an affectionate way of making fun of the relative lack of fame among the Italians themselves.
What was unthinkable is that the joke would become a cultural phenomenon with books, reports or songs , and in the new goose that lays the golden eggs for the most opportunistic who have smelled blood with videos in Youtube, monologues, internet memes and even bogus scientific papers to prove the impossible.
I want to believe
A very symbolic example. The total number of followers of the Facebook pages that question the existence of Molise add up to more people than the entire population of the Italian region **(308,000) **. Curling the curl, you can buy items from merchandising such as mugs or t-shirts about the non-existence of Molise in the Molise region itself. An eternal loop of absurdity.
We do not know if any Italian political party will do as Izquierda Unida with Lepe, even suggesting that **lepero jokes be declared a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC)** as intangible heritage of the people, but the truth is that the laughter of the Italians have gone on to grimaces of admiration. Because New York Times It has just published its list of the 52 places to go in 2020 and, surprise, Molise appears in the thirty-seventh place with all the honours.
“ If you are looking for an untrammeled destination in the most traditional Italy, you have found it ”, they begin by saying, and then unleash the joke that has become a hoax: “Have you never heard of Molise? Do not be ashamed. Even many Italians have not been to this region in south-central Italy. ”.
“A CONTESTANT FROM MOLISE PARTICIPATES IN MASTERCHEF. THIS YEAR IS NOT ABOUT COOKING, IT IS ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION"
Overcome the silly laugh of the easy joke, there are so many things to see in the Molise region that overwhelms the new visitor. For beach lovers, you can tour a whopping 35 kilometers of virgin coastline with charming villages like Termoli , overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
Those who prefer the mountains have Campitello Matese , home to a vast network of slopes for skiers. And those who prefer history, here you can visit the roman settlements (and little traveled compared to the capital of Italy) of the Saepinum and the beautiful swabian castle.
Termoli, Molise
“HALF OF THE POPULATION APPEARS FOR THE ELECTIONS IN MOLISE; THE OTHER HALF DOES NOT VOTE"
But if something attracts attention, it is the almost unique opportunity to walk through its mountainous and rugged territory marked by the characteristic "tratturi" (glens). Are the historical routes of seasonal transhumance that unite the pastures of Abruzzi and Apulia.
“Transhumance is an ancient tradition carried out already in the pre-Roman period. Tourists can walk the same ancient paths that shepherds followed with their flocks (some still do), becoming intimate with the transhumant lifestyle . Imagining the way this tradition was carried out is a authentic way to understand the nature of Molise , an Italian region with a long history that is not yet well known abroad.” Fortunately, those responsible for the Italy tourism official website they don't make the joke with the last sentence.
Archaeological site of Saepinum
"I WROTE 'MOLISE DOESN'T EXIST' IN MY FACEBOOK STATUS. MY GEOGRAPHY TEACHER LIKED IT"
Tourists who want to walk through nature will be able to enjoy the traturelli (minor roads), bracci (secondary communication roads that have the function of connecting the sheep posts) and the ripo (rest areas intended for parking herds) and shepherds).
"Its function, in the process of improvement for decades, today goes beyond the dimension of pastoralism, which knows more modern forms, to acquire a strong socio-cultural meaning and a possible tourist vocation", they assure from the ** Regional Secretariat of Molise * *.
“The revitalization of sheep trails, as a key to tourism sustainability, accompanied by the historical, anthropological, ethnographic and landscape support, it also represents fertile ground in which to apply new strategies”.
Pastoralism, fundamental in the life of Molise
Some strategies that refer to empowerment of its inhabitants and revitalization of the local economy , since recovering the historical routes of transhumance has facilitated the emergence of craft workshops of many varieties of excellent cheeses such as caciocavallo , a fatty cheese so old that it is known as “archaeological cheese”.
Thus, Molise's revenge arrives in 2020 . After years of putting up with jokes at his expense questioning his existence, now is the time to take the initiative and take advantage of that popularity to become known throughout the world. Because it is already known that he who laughs last, laughs best.