Introduction
Molise is a land of ancient and noble origins, which for millennia has defended humans and animals through impenetrable forests and mountains insurmountable. This territory, which suffered the scarcity of road communications was difficult to reach and conquer and therefore has preserved over the centuries its wild, genuine and charming appearance, like all border lands. This isolation, the result of position and fate, made Molise a little unknown piece of the earth, far from the speedy development, but for that reason a place where it is still possible to reconcile wealth with a correct relationship with the nature. Molise is a middle land between center and south Italy, a meeting point where the mountain peaks of mass inside, the rolling hills of the central area and the golden shores of the Adriatic converge.
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Collemeluccio, the Mab reserve by UNESCO
 Starting from Molise, nature never ceases for a moment to enchant us, with its green mountains where the sounds of bells accompanying the sheep grazing on the edge of the fir wood in Collemeluccio, the Mab reserve by UNESCO.
This wood represents, along with the other reserve (Montedimezzo) one of the few sites where you can admire precious Fir White dell'Appennino, plant species destroyed by human intervention unconscious.
This is a Mab protected area, i.e. a protected area established by UNESCO and is one of the three in Italy. It includes the territory of Collemeluccio and Montedimezzo. The Montedimezzo forest was once a game reserve of the Bourbons and is connected to that of Collemeluccio, which was owned by the noblewoman Desiderata Melucci, from whom the name is thought to have been derived. The reserve also extends into the territory of Vastogirardi.
The forest is situated at an altitude of between 800 and 1066 m. The woods of Montedimezzo are mainly made up of Turkey oak to a lesser extent beech trees and one or other species dominates depending on the area. The shrubs depends on the type of the tree that is predominant.
The pear tree, the apple tree, the may-blossom and the Daphne are found more frequently in Turkey oak groves, whereas amongst the beech groves one mainly finds the mountain maple, Lobel’s maple and the black and white hornbeam.
The hazelnut, the willow and the poplar are very common mainly in the ravines and along the ditches. The fauna includes wild boar, hare, badger, weasel, beech-marten, fox, buzzard and barn owl.
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National Park
Not far from reserves, meet the beautiful mountain range of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, where nature is the undisputed queen and is lovingly protected by its inhabitants.
The park, which extends over the territory of three regions has a surface area of 43,900 hectares, The mountains in the park offer a varied and interesting landscape where typically rounded peaks of the Appenines alternate with the steep slopes that are characteristically Alpine.
The sangro River, into which a numbers of torrents flow, crosses the central area; on the other hand , in the outer section of the park The Giovenco, Melfa, Volturno and other Rivers flow.
Only two lake basins exist in the area: the Barrea, an artificial lake which is fed by The Sangro River and the Lake Vivo which is a natural lake.
The spring and summer flowerings are astonishingly beautiful and include violets, crocuses, gentian, lilies, anemones, primula, buttercups and other flowers that brighten up the green glades and the grey calcareous cliffs. In the mountain area the vegetation gives away to immense beech woods, whereas in the valleys there are mainly Turkey oak woods.
 The Marsican brown bear is one of the most important animals in the park although it is difficult to sight as during the day the bears remain hidden in the thickest part of the woods, One is more likely to see the Abruzzo Chamois, the deer and the roe deer which once again populate the park after having been re-introduced into it. However the fox, the hare, the mole, the hedgehog and the weasel are very common in this territory. The bird-life includes, the golden eagle, the goshawk, the buzzard, the eagle-owl and the tawny owl.
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Mortine Oasis by WWF Italy
Following the Volturno River -from the tumultuous sources to the increasingly placid run towards the valley- you come close to Venafro in the area of Mortine Oasis by WWF Italy. This hydrophilic forest, , is a residual vegetation of the river survived to the most ferocious deforestation.
Today is a safe observation point for scholars and enthusiasts birdwatchers.
The Oasis is situated on the border between Campania and Molise – within the municipal area of Venafro.
It is an artificial oasis on the Volturno River, formed by a dam built for hydroelectric purposes once basin adjustment of ENEL (Italy’s largest producers and sellers of electricity and gas). From the nature trail along a limpid resurgence of the Volturno River, we reach a bird-watching post in the wetlands, where one can see water birds; past a small clearing and using a wooden bridge we cross the educational pond. This is an area of great ecological importance where tritons, frogs and rare swamp orchids can be studied. After having crossed the fluvial forest along trail -equipped with didactic sign boards- we carry on towards the butterfly garden and the didactic nursery; here the meadow studded with floral specimens one can admire butterflies during their developing stages.
The black alder is the most common tree found in the oasis but there is also the white willow, the flowering ash, the maple, the elm and the oak, depending on the moisture levels.
In the ditches and canals one find s atypical vegetation of rushes, esparto an, nasturiums and speedwell. The water fauna changes according to the season and includes birds such us mallard ducks, water hens, coots, great crested grebes, water-rails, widgeons, teals, tufted ducks, pintail ducks, ash-grey herons (the symbol of the oasis), bitterns, stilts, red herons and little egrets.
The bird of prey include the brown kite, the buzzard, the Merlin, the goshawk and the marsh owl.
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Matese Mountain
 Continuing to the south, you meet the northern fringe of the Massif Matese, the mountains of Molise. The Matese, because of its conformation and tormented geological history is a kind of geological and pale ontological open air museum.
Established in 1997 on 1066 hectares of Apennine territory, the Guardiaregia-Campochiaro Natural Oasis is the only protected habitat of Matese in Molise, situated on the eastern slope of the Massif, with two sectors near the gorges of the Quirino Torrent and around the peak of Mount Mutria.
The Matese is a calcareous massif with ist imposing south-western slope. On the Molise side it is generally greener with more rounded forms. Towards the north it also has spectacular crags and ravines. It is the second largest WWF Oasis and it has caves and above all canyons by karstic phenomena. Because it is covered by a thick beech wood grove it is the ideal place to watch birds of prey such as the buzzard, the red kite and the very rare lanner.
Other animal species include the salamander and the wolf.
Among the plant species there are numerous varieties of wild orchids as well as gentian, primula and Apennine rock jasmine.
On the San Nicola nature trail in the Oasis one can observe the very beautiful spring flowering of orchids and on the river banks the bespectacled Salamander. Finally there is the Grand Quirino Canyon and the San Nicola waterfall with a drop of 100 m at its maximum seasonal flow. Other
Oasis’s numbers:
2187 hectares of land
4 km of the canyon formed by the River Quirino
1050 m depth of the Abisso della Neve
100 m jumping the cascade of St. Nicholas
500 years of beeches of the Three Brothers
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LIPU Oasis of Casacalenda
 Moving in the Molise Basso you arrive in Casacalenda and find a small hill protected area, where live some sort of diurnal raptors such as Poiana, Lanario and sparrow.
The LIPU Oasis of Casacalenda was the first protected area of Molise and is situated on the slopes of The Frentani Mountains, between the Matese massif and the Adriatic coast. It is hilly wooden area made up predominantly of Turkey oak, durmast and English oak. Many plants that are typical of the undergrowth are found along the trails, namely cornel, blackthorn, may-blossom and privet. Moreover during summer, the woods become an enormous carpet of flowers, with primula, narcissi, orchids, red bear’s foot and others.
The environments attract 110 species of birds (counting those catalogued in the oasis). Birds of prey, such us the buzzard and the lanner (very difficult to spot), as well as the kite and the sparrow-hawk nest here.
In addition one finds the golden oriole, the green woodpecker and the magpie. The mammals of the oasis include the badger, the beech-marten, the polecat, the weasel and the fox.
The LIPU Oasis takes up two-thirds of the Casale Wood that historically was the site of the Hannibal’s camp at Gerione. During the 1920’s the area was inserted into the free felling programme and the clearing of trees that was scheduled for every 15 years was only stopped during the beginning of the 1990’s, when the Municipality of Casacalenda, the owner of the land, declared the wood a protected area. This was the first Nature Oasis of Molise.
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