Lazio

Lazio(UK:/ˈlætsioʊ/LAT-see-oh,US:/ˈlɑːt-/LAHT-;Italian:[ˈlattsjo]) orLatium(/ˈleɪʃiəm/LAY-shee-əm,USalso/-ʃəm/-⁠shəm;fromthe original Latin name,pronounced[ˈɫati.ũː]) is one of the 20administrative regionsofItaly. Situated in thecentral peninsular sectionof the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants and a GDP of more than €212 billion per year, making it the country's second most populated regionand second largest regional economy afterLombardy. The capital of Lazio isRome, which is thecapital cityof Italy.
Lazio was the home of theEtruscan civilization, then stood at the center of theRoman Republic, of theRoman Empire, of thePapal States, of theKingdom of Italyand of theItalian Republic. Lazio boasts a rich cultural heritage. Great artists and historical figures lived and worked in Rome, particularly during theItalian Renaissanceperiod.
In remote antiquity, Lazio (Latium) included only a limited part of the current region, between the lower course of theTiber, theTyrrhenian Sea, theMonti Sabiniand thePontine Marshes.
After the end ofWorld War IIand the fall of theFascist regimeLazio and Italy sawrapid economic growth, in particular in Rome. Today, Lazio is a large center ofservicesandinternational trade,industry,public servicesandtourism, supported by an extensive network oftransport infrastructuresthanks to its geographical position in the center ofItalian Peninsulaand the presence of Rome within it.
Lazio comprises a land area of 17,242 km(6,657 sq mi) and it has borders withTuscany,Umbria, andMarcheto the north,AbruzzoandMoliseto the east,Campaniato the south, and theTyrrhenian Seato the west. The region is mainly hilly (56%) and mountainous (26%), with some plains (20%) along the coast and the Tiber valley.
The coast of Lazio is mainly composed of sandy beaches, punctuated by the headlands ofCape Circeo(541 m) andGaeta(171 m). ThePontine Islands, which are part of Lazio, are off Lazio's southern coast. Behind the coastal strip, to the north, lies theMaremmaLaziale (the continuation of the Tuscan Maremma), a coastal plain interrupted atCivitavecchiaby theTolfa Mountains(616 m). The central section of the region is occupied by theRoman Campagna, a vastalluvial plainsurrounding the city of Rome, with an area of approximately 2,100 km(811 sq mi). The southern districts are characterized by the flatlands ofAgro Pontino, a once swampy andmalarialarea, that wasreclaimedover the centuries.
ThePreapenninesof Latium, marked by theTiber Valleyand theLiriwith theSaccotributary, include on the right of the Tiber, three groups of mountains of volcanic origin: theVolsini,CiminiandSabatini, whose largest former craters are occupied by theBolsena,VicoandBraccianolakes. To the south of the Tiber, other mountain groups form part of the Preapennines: theAlban Hills, also of volcanic origin, and the calcareousLepini,AusoniandAurunci Mountains. The Apennines of Latium are a continuation of the Apennines of Abruzzo: the Reatini Mountains withTerminillo(2,213 m), Mounts Sabini,Prenestini,SimbruiniandErniciwhich continue east of the Liri into theMainarde Mountains. The highest peak is Mount Gorzano (2,458 m) on the border with Abruzzo.
The region'sclimate, monitored by several dozen meteorological stations (many of which managed by the Lazio Regional Hydrographic and Mareographic Office), shows considerable variability from area to area. In general, along thecoast, there is amediterranean climate, the temperature values vary between 9–10 °C (48–50 °F) in January and 24–25 °C (75–77 °F) in July.
Towards the interior, the climate is morecontinentaland, on the hills, winters are cold and at night, temperatures can be quite frigid.
With particular regard to thesunshine duration, it should also be noted that, among the regional capital cities in Italy, Rome is the one with the highest number of hours ofsunshineand days with clear skies during the year.
The Italian word Lazio descends from the Latin wordLatium, the region of theLatins,Latiniin the Latin language spoken by them and passed on to the Latin city-state ofAncient Rome. Although the demography of ancient Rome wasmulti-ethnic, including, for example, Etruscans, Sabines and otherItalicsbesides the Latini, the latter were the dominant constituent. InRoman mythology, the tribe of the Latini took their name from KingLatinus. Apart from the mythical derivation of Lazio given by the ancients as the place whereSaturn, ruler of thegolden agein Latium, hid (latuisset)from Jupiter there,a major modern etymology is that Lazio comes from the Latin word "latus", meaning "wide",expressing the idea of "flat land" meaning theRoman Campagna. Much of Lazio is in fact flat or rolling. The lands originally inhabited by the Latini were extended into the territories of theSamnites, theMarsi, theHernici, theAequi, theAurunciand theVolsci, all surrounding Italic tribes. This larger territory was still called Latium, but it was divided intoLatium adiectumor Latium Novum, the added lands or New Latium, and Latium Vetus, or Old Latium, the older, smaller region. The northern border of Lazio was theTiberriver, which divided it fromEtruria.
The emperorAugustusofficially united almost all of present-day Italy into a single geo-political entity,Italia, dividing it into eleven regions. The part of today's Lazio south of the Tiber river – together with the present region ofCampaniaimmediately to the southeast of Lazio and the seat ofNeapolis– became Region I (Latium et Campania), while modernUpper Laziobecame part ofRegio VII – Etruria, and today'sProvince of RietijoinedRegio IV – Samnium.
Afterthe Gothic conquest of Italyat the end of the fifth century, modern Lazio became part of theOstrogothic Kingdom, but after theGothic War between 535 and 554and conquest by theByzantine Empire, the region became the property of the Eastern Emperor as theDuchy of Rome. However, the long wars against theLongobardsweakened the region. With theDonation of Sutriin 728, thePopeacquired the first territory in the region beyond the Duchy of Rome.
The strengthening of the religious and ecclesiastical aristocracy led to continuous power struggles between secular lords (Baroni) and the Pope until the middle of the 16th century.Innocent IIItried to strengthen his own territorial power, wishing to assert his authority in the provincial administrations of Tuscia, Campagna and Marittima through the Church's representatives, in order to reduce the power of theColonna family. Other popes tried to do the same. During the period when the papacy resided inAvignon, France(1309–1377), the feudal lords' power increased due to the absence of the Pope from Rome. Small communes, and Rome above all, opposed the lords' increasing power, and withCola di Rienzo, they tried to present themselves as antagonists of the ecclesiastical power. However, between 1353 and 1367, the papacy regained control of Lazio and the rest of thePapal States. From the middle of the 16th century, the papacy politically unified Lazio with the Papal States,so that these territories became provincial administrations of St. Peter's estate; governors inViterbo, in Marittima andCampagna, and inFrosinoneadministered them for the papacy.
Lazio was part of the short-livedRoman Republic, after which it became apuppet stateof theFirst French Republicunder the forces ofNapoleon Bonaparte. Lazio was returned to the Papal States in October 1799. In 1809, it was annexed to the French Empire under the name of theDepartment of Tibre, but returned to the Pope's control in 1815.
On 20 September 1870 thecapture of Rome, during the reign of PopePius IX, and France's defeat atSedan, completedItalian unification, and Lazio was incorporated into theKingdom of Italy. In 1927, the territory of the province of Rieti, belonging toUmbriaandAbruzzo, joined Lazio. Towns in Lazio were devastated by the2016 Central Italy earthquake.
Agriculture, crafts, animal husbandry and fishery are the main traditional sources of income. Agriculture is characterized by the cultivation of wine grapes, fruit, vegetables and olives. Lazio is the main growing region ofkiwiin Italy.
Approximately 73% of the working population are employed in the services sector, which contribute 85.8% of regional GDP; this is a considerable proportion, but is justified by the presence of Rome, which is the core of public administration, media, utility, telecommunication, transport, tourism and other sectors. Many national and multinational corporations, public and private, have their headquarters in Rome (ENI,Italiana Petroli,Enel,Acea,Terna,TIM,Poste italiane,Leonardo,ITA Airways,Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane,RAI).
Lazio's limited industrial sector and highly developed service industries allowed the region to well outperform the Italian economy in 2009 in the heart of the global financial crisis, but it was strongly affected by theCOVID-19crisis of 2020–2021 due to the lock-downs.
Industrial development in Lazio is limited to the areas south of Rome. Communications and – above all – the setting of the border of theCassa del Mezzogiornosome kilometers south of Rome have influenced the position of industry, favouring the areas with the best links to Rome and those near theAutostrada del Sole, especially aroundFrosinone. Additional factor was cheap energy supply fromLatina Nuclear Power PlantandGarigliano Nuclear Power Plant, which are now out of the operation after Italian nuclear energy referendum.
Industry contributes a small part of GDP: its share is 8.9% compared to 25.0% inVenetoand 24.0% inEmilia-Romagna.InRomeit is even less with 7%, compared with 12% from tourism. Since a large part of Lazio's GDP is produced by theservice sector, with highvalue added.
Firms are often small to medium in size and operate in the
There is some R&D activity inhigh technology:IBM(IBM Rome Software Lab),Ericsson,Leonardo Electronics(Rome-Tiburtina, Rome-Laurentina,Pomezia,Latina),Rheinmetall("Radar House") and tire industry:Bridgestone(R&D center inRomeand proving grounds inAprilia).
The most distinctive industry in Lazio is production of household chemicals, pharmaceutical, hygiene goods and medical products:Sigma-Tau,Johnson & Johnson,Procter & Gamble,Colgate Palmolive,Henkel,Pfizer,Abbott,Catalent,Angelini,Menarini, Biopharma,Wepa.
From fruits the most important arekiwifruit(1st place in Italy) andhazel nuts"Nocciola romana". Italy itself is the second largest producer of kiwifruit worldwide and was surpassed only byChina. Infrastructure which has been used for grape growing was easily adapted for kiwifruit cultivation.
Only sheep and buffalo herds are significant nationwide. Both are kept predominantly for milk, which is used in the production ofpecorino romanoandmozzarella di bufalacheese. Sheep herds are the 3rd nationwide afterSardiniaandSicily. 40% of sheep are bred inprovince of Viterbo.
Vineyards cover 47,884 hectares (118,320 acres) in Lazio. 90% of wines are white. In production of quality wine Lazio has rank 14 of 20 with 190.557 hl.
There are 3 DOCG wines:
Tourism in Lazio is a thriving sector especially as regards tourism linked to art and monuments and places of interest in the region (Romein particular), religious tourism (Rome and the sanctuaries of Lazio), summer seaside tourism especially in upper and lower Lazio (Santa Marinella,Ladispoli,Anzio,Nettuno,Sabaudia,San Felice Circeo,Terracina,Sperlonga,Gaeta) and summer/winter tourism in theski resortsof the Lazio Apennines (Monte Terminillo,Leonessa,Cittareale, Monte Livata, Campo Staffi and Campocatino, Altipiani diArcinazzo). Other points of interest in the region are the area of theRoman Castles, located south-east of the city of Rome, around theAlban Hills, made up of a group of towns and cities, partly in the territory ofLatium Vetus, surrounded by theRoman Campagna. Also the areas aroundLake BraccianoandLake Bolsena, Lazio is home to 14 lakes of volcanic origin.One of the most important archaeological park inItalyisOstia Antica, known as the port of ancient Rome, Ostia was a city of the Latium Vetus, located near the mouth of theTiber river.Civita di Bagnoregio, also known as "the dying city", has become a popular tourist destination in the country.
According toIstatdata relating to 2018, Lazio is one of the most visited regions in Italy and Europe and one of the first in terms of number of international presences. Rome is the most visited city in Italy with around 30 million visitors per year. Among the most visited sites of interest include theColosseumandImperial fora,Castel Sant'Angeloand the complex ofHadrian's VillaandVilla d'Este, among the museum itineraries thePantheon, theGardens of Bomarzo, theAbbey of Fossanova,Monte Cassino AbbeyandFarfa Abbey.
Lazio has many small and picturesque villages, 25 of them have been selected byI Borghi più belli d'Italia(English:The most beautiful Villages of Italy),a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.
LazioGDPgrowth from 2013 to 2017 ineuro:
In 2019 there were 657,855 companies, 10.8% of the national total.
The table below shows the GDP, produced in Lazio at current market prices in 2006,expressed in millions of euros, broken down into the main economic macro-activities:
The unemployment rate stood at7.7%in 2022.
With a population of 5,714,882 million (as of 31 December 2021), Lazio is the second-most populated region of Italy.The overall population density in the region is 341 inhabitants per km. However, the population density widely ranges from almost 800 inhabitants per kmin the highly urbanizedRome metropolitan areato less than 60 inhabitants per kmin the mountainous and ruralprovince of Rieti. As of January 2023, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 615,108 foreign-born immigrants live in Lazio, equal to 11.1% of the total regional population.
Lazio has a system ofrepresentative democracyin which the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione) is thehead of governmentand of a pluriformmulti-party system.Executive poweris vested in the regional government (Giunta Regionale) andlegislative poweris vested in theRegional Council(Consiglio Regionale).
Rome iscentre-leftpolitically oriented by tradition, while the rest of Lazio iscentre-rightoriented. In the2008 general election, Lazio gave 44.2% of its vote to the centre-right coalition, while the centre-left block took 41.4% of vote. In the2013 general election, Lazio gave 40.7% of its vote to the centre-left block coalition, 29.3% to the centre-right coalition and 20.2 to theFive Star Movement.
The current president of Lazio isFrancesco Rocca, independent politician and former president of theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in office in thecentre-right coalition.
Lazio is divided into fourprovincesand onemetropolitan (province-level) city:
One of the most famous forms of food in Lazio ispasta. Dishes first attested inside the region's borders include:
Guancialeis used in several sauces.Guancialeis the cut of pork obtained from the cheek of the pig, crossed by lean veins of muscle with a component of valuable fat, of a composition different fromlardo("back fat") andpancetta("belly fat"): the consistency is harder thanpancettaand it possesses a more distinctive flavor.Guancialeis salted pork fat, different frombacon, which is smoked. It is a typical product of Lazio,UmbriaandAbruzzo. Another important ingredient ispecorino romanocheese.
Vegetables are common,artichokes("carciofi") being among the most popular:
Other popular vegetables areromanesco broccoli,asparagus,fava bean,cima di rapa,romaine lettuce,pumpkin,zucchiniandchicory.
In the cuisine of Lazio, spices are widely used. Among the most used arelesser cat-mint, called in Rome "mentuccia" (for artichokes and mushrooms),squaw mint, called in Rome "menta romana" (for lamb and tripe),laurel,rosemary,sage,juniper,chiliand gratedtruffle.
Although Roman and Lazio cuisine use cheap ingredients like vegetable and pasta, poor people needed a source of protein. Therefore, they used the so-called"quinto quarto"("fifth quarter"), leftovers from animal carcasses that remained after the sale of prized parts to the wealthy.
Quinto quartoincludes tripe (the most valuable part ofreticulum, also called "cuffia", "l'omaso" or "lampredotto"), kidneys (which need to be soaked for a long time in water with lemon to remove urine smell), heart, liver, spleen, sweetbreads (pancreas, thymus and salivary glands), brain, tongue, ox tail, trotters and pajata (intestinesof calf, fed only with its mother's milk). The intestines are cleaned and skinned but thechyme(mass of partly digested food) is left inside. Typical dishes of this style are:
Traditional meat dishes includesaltimbocca alla romana(veal wrapped withprosciutto di ParmaDOPandsageand cooked in white wine, butter and flour) andabbacchio alla romana(roasted lamb with garlic, rosemary, pepper and choppedprosciutto).
The region gives its name to the professionalfootballclubSS Laziothat plays in the ItalianSerie A. The region has two professional clubs in the top flight, the other beingAS Roma, who also play in the highest division of Italian football. Combined, the two have wonfive Italian championshipswith Roma winning three and Lazio two. The main sports stadium in Lazio isStadio Olimpicoin Rome which has housed both teams for a prolonged time and hostsDerby della Capitalebetween the two clubs. The stadium also hosted the1960 Summer Olympicsand the1990 FIFA World Cup final. Outside of Rome the football scene has another club playing in the Serie A, that beingFrosinone.
Lazio hosts no top-line motorsports events, but theVallelungacircuit previously hosted theSuperbike World Championshipinmotorcycle racing.
Rome is home to many international sporting events and competitions, including:
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