As Italy’s second smallest region (after Valle D’aosta) and the country’s youngest after its split with Abruzzo in 1963, Molise has a big reputation in Italy. 

Ask an Italian what to do in Molise and they’ll probably look confused or quip ‘it doesn’t exist’ – a long-running joke among Italians that sometimes leaves foreigners confused.

No one seems to know quite where the joke stemmed from or why, but it became popular following the social media hashtag #IlMolisenonesiste (#Molisedoesnotexist). There’s even been a book written on the topic of Molise’s existence, Il Molise non esiste, by Italian journalist Enzo Luongo. 

For some people, all this makes living there that much more interesting.

The saying that Molise doesn’t exist is “exactly why we were drawn to moving here,” says Joyce Laggini, a Maryland native, from the comfort of her Mafalda-based home in the Campobasso province of the region.

Joyce, along with her half-Italian husband Robert, is one of the 305,000 people who call themselves residents in Italy’s supposedly fictitious region. 

The couple made the leap three years ago following retirement due to lower retiree taxes and housing costs. They opted against settling in nearby regions Puglia, Campagnia and Lazio for reasons such as higher prices.

READ MORE: Seven reasons Molise (yes, Molise) is Italy’s best kept secret.

Molise wasn’t their initial choice though – neighbouring Abruzzo was. They had never even heard of Molise until they met their Molisano friend Fabio who convinced them to visit.

“We fell in love with the place almost immediately,” continues Joyce. “It’s a patchwork of rolling greenery with quaint villages dotted everywhere and it’s so untouched.

“It’s the real core of Italy.”

Their village Mafalda has a minuscule population of 1,000. It’s not even one of the smallest in Molise. 

“There are more tractors than perhaps cars or people,” chimes in her husband Robert. “Three cars in line is a traffic jam.” 

“We often get asked by the locals what we’re doing here because they don’t get it. We respond we’re here because it is so authentically Italian.”

The pair predict they get so many questions because locally Mafalda is known as ‘the town that isn’t’.

“This makes it funnier for us,” says Joyce. “We’re in a nonexistent town in a nonexistent region.”

“You’ll never find us, we’re really off the beaten path.”

 About one hour from Mafalda in Castelbottaccio, bordering Molise’s second province Isernia, live South Carolinian Greg Vick and his British wife. The two moved to the village with 200 people two years ago, one year after Robert and Joyce. 

“To be honest, it’s the people for me who are so friendly.  Everywhere you go you are welcomed,” says Greg. “They sit and chat with you and buy you a coffee. It’s not like the USA.”

Greg says the pride which people have for their villages in Molise has made him proud to live here too. He adds the region is full of things to do such as hiking, beaches, churches and more.

“The history here is something else, and being an archaeologist, it’s a dream,” he continues.

A key downside he notes is the lack of big stores, but it isn’t enough to make him want to move.

On the infamous hashtag, he says: “I can understand it, there are so many activities here and no one knows about them.  Without the promotion of the region, of course people don’t think it exists.”

The lack of tourism is exactly why Daniella Petruccio, a UK native with Italian roots, loves living in Molise. The region called her when she was offered a teaching job in the coastal town of Termoli. She’s been living in nearby Campomarino since 2007.

“It just sounded so idyllic that I packed my bags and left the UK within a week,” she says.

“I love that the beaches aren’t crowded in summer. I enjoy Molise’s simplicity and unaffectedness of the hustle and bustle of city life. It’s a region with no airs and graces and no pretence. The people are some of the warmest and kindest you will meet.”

She lists a few of her favourite things to do in the region such as the Riccia Grape Festival and the Ndocciata of Agnone which is a fire festival held in December in Agnone, a town famed for its bell foundry.

Despite the running joke, Molise is evidently a region where international residents enjoy life to the full.