Practical Information for visiting Agnone

Agnone is one of the harder places to reach in this whole set, and that is the main thing to plan around.

There is no railway. The nearest station is at Isernia, about an hour by mountain road, on the slow line between Campobasso and Naples.

By road, Campobasso is about an hour and a quarter, Termoli and the Adriatic about two, Rome about three and Naples about two and a half.

The nearest airports are Naples at around two and a half hours and Rome Fiumicino at about three and a half.

Coaches run to Rome and Naples, usually once a day.

The nearest motorway junctions are on the A14 at Vasto and the A1 well to the west.

Coverage for mobile networks is adequate in the town and unreliable in the valleys and forests.

Agnone is a very safe town and crime is not a consideration.

The 'Ndocciata is the one genuine hazard: several hundred people carry burning structures through a narrow street in a dense crowd. Burns and sparks are routine, clothing catches, and the sensible position is behind the barriers rather than in the procession.

Winter at 830 metres is serious. Snow closes the roads out of town, ice forms early, and winter tyres or chains are a legal requirement from November to April.

Mountain roads in the Alto Molise are narrow, winding, poorly lit and sometimes have livestock on them; the Sente viaduct has been closed for structural work more than once.

In the forests, weather changes quickly, coverage for mobile networks fails, and it is easy to be further from help than the map suggests.

The region is seismically active.

Emergency services are reached on 112.

No vaccinations or special precautions are needed; standards are those of Italy generally.

The altitude at 830 metres is not an issue, but the lanes off the corso are steep and stepped.

Cold is the real seasonal problem: this is a mountain winter and visitors regularly underdress for it.

Ticks are common in the pasture and forest around the town.

At the 'Ndocciata, minor burns and smoke irritation are the commonest complaints of the year.

Medical provision is the honest weak point. Agnone's hospital has been progressively reduced and is a live local grievance; the nearest full emergency departments are at Isernia and Campobasso, an hour or more away over mountain roads.

There is a pharmacy in the town on a published rota.

EHIC and GHIC cards are accepted; travel insurance is worth having, and anyone with a condition that may need urgent attention should know where the nearest hospital is before travelling.

The single emergency number across Italy is 112, reaching police, ambulance and fire, generally with English-speaking operators.

Other numbers still in use: 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire.

Agnone has a hospital, but its services have been progressively cut; the nearest full emergency departments are at Isernia and Campobasso, each an hour or more by mountain road. Plan on that distance rather than on the local building.

For mountain rescue in the Alto Molise, call 112 and ask for the Soccorso Alpino; helicopter cover comes from outside the region and is weather-dependent.

Report thefts to the Carabinieri, who have a station in the town, for the report an insurer will require.

There is no foreign consular representation in Molise; the nearest are in Naples, and embassies are in Rome.

In winter, be aware that a road closure can put the nearest hospital significantly further away than the distance suggests.