Ask an Italian where the Molise region is and they will shake their head to tell you; “Molise doesn´t exist.” Italy´s smallest region after Valle d´Aosta, Molise is regarded by Italians as a myth, despite its 305,000 population. Located between Abruzzo and Puglia on Italy´s east coast, Molise is Italy´s best-kept secret.

The origin of the long-running joke among Italians is unknown and continues to confuse foreigners. The notion of Molise´s non-existence became popular following a social media hashtag #Molisenonesiste (#Molisedoesnotexist). An Italian journalist, Enzo Luongo even wrote a book on the strange subject, II Molise non esiste; this oddity is one of the things that makes Molise so appealing.