Abruzzo and Molise

The final region of our study, Abruzzo and Molise. The regions that border it are Puglia, Campagna and Marche. This region, while one of the biggest, is not united by a family that originated in said region, so their economy is based solely on their own productions, which they get by with just fine.

Since Abruzzo and Molise are smaller regions that are divided, both physically and politically, we can see that both sides are both different and alike in many ways. Both sides are in touch with their cultural side and believe what they will, but in term of cuisine they are both different.

In the times of the Romans, however, they unified both of these sides due to the fact that they were easy to dominate, by fact of the regions being divided into small cities/states. With the come of the Romans, comes the many different trade routes and ports, that were established along the eastern side. Sadly, with the Fall of the Roman Empire, we see these regions fall into decline, in which they become divided again.

Within this region, we see a diet that consists of meats and cheeses, with vegetables of course. Within Abruzzo and Molise, however, there currently is a very large population of sheep that are constantly being moved from Abruzzo and Molise to Foggia, with a process called the Transumanza, which the shepherd brings the sheep on a path to flatland, and then back to the mountains.

Being next to Umbria, we see that the people of both the regions are proficient in Salumi making. An instance of this is the making of Mortadella di Campotosto, which is a mortadella in which the meat is formed into an oblong shape and a large piece of lard is placed in the center of the salumi. This both shows the proficiency of the Salumi makers of the area and their love for the craft.