Lazio

Lazio

Geography and Climate

Lazio is one of the most famous regions of Italy. The region borders Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise and Campania. Rome, the capital of the region and of Italy, is a big city which is important for art, culture, history and religion. Today, the metropolitan city of Rome has more than 4 million inhabitants. Lazio consists of five provinces: Viterbo (VT), Rieti (RI), Frosinone (FR), Latina (LT) and Rome (RM).

Vatican City

The region is 17,000 km² in size and has almost 6 million inhabitants. The population density (332 inhabitants/km2) is higher than the average in Italy. Quite special is that there is another small country inside the Lazio region, namely Vatican City.

Lago di Bracciano

Lazio is much more than just the metropolis of Rome. There are some nice lakes like Lake Bolsena or Lake Albano and Lake Bracciano, where movie actor Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes. East of Rome there are the beautiful hills of the Castelli Romani. Lazio is an elongated region with many sandy beaches, beautiful landscapes and nature reserves. Civitavecchia is an important port where ferries leave for Sardinia and Sicily, among others, and where large cruise ships moor on their tour of the Mediterranean Sea.

Rome

Airports: Rome Fiumicino (FCO) and Rome Ciampino (CIA). From Fiumicino airport you can take a train or a shuttle bus to Roma Termini station. The Leonardo Express train offers the fastest connection (30 minutes) but is also the most expensive option. From Ciampino there are only shuttle buses. From both airports you can take a taxi to the centre of Rome at a fixed rate.

For those travelling by train, there is a wide range of fast long-distance trains (Frecciarossa) from Roma Termini station. Travel times are: Naples 1h10 (225 km), Florence 1h35h (280 km), Bologna 2h25 (380 km), Milano 3h10 (575 km) and Turin 4h50 (690 km). These are the only real high-speed lines. Similar trains (Frecciargento, Frecciabianca) also run on other routes: Verona 3h20 (505 km), Bari 4h10 (430 km), Trento 4h25 (585 km) and Bolzano 5h00 (640 km).

Lazio has a mild Mediterranean climate. There is little precipitation on the coast and the northern coastal region is drier than the south. In the mountainous interior there is more precipitation and the winters are cold. Of all the provincial capitals in Italy, Rome is the city with the highest number of hours of sunshine.

On the coast there is little risk of damage to homes by earthquakes. In the extreme east of the provinces of Frosinone and Rieti there is a high risk of serious earthquakes. The towns of Amatrice (RI) and Accumoli (RI) were hit hard by an earthquake in 2016, in which 300 people died.

Food and drinks

Carciofi alla Romana

Many classic pasta dishes originate from this region, like Cacio e pepe, Puttanesca, Carbonara and Amatriciana. The most famous cheese from this region is Pecorino Romano DOP, a spicy sheep's milk cheese. The Romans love Abbacchio, baked lamb with garlic and fresh rosemary, with the side dish Carciofi alla Romana, artichokes stuffed with garlic and parsley, delicious dishes that are best combined with a local wine such as Castelli Romani or Cerveteri di Viterbo.

Economics and Healthcare

Almost 11% of all Italian companies are based in Lazio, most of them in the capital Rome. Agriculture was very important here until the middle of the last century, but that has now declined. The cultivation of olive trees for oil production is still important. Lazio is known for raising sheep. Industry is mainly limited to the areas south of Rome, where you will mainly find car and mechanical industry. The presence of Roman excavations has favoured the development of the tourism industry in the region. The inner city of Rome, on the other hand, has a huge attraction for tourists from all over the world. Rome Fiumicino Airport is Italy's busiest airport and has one of the highest passenger satisfaction ratings in Europe.

The Lazio region ranks 2nd in the crime index, with 4,517 reported crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, well above the national average of 3,816. As for the number of thefts and thefts in homes, the number of cases reported in Lazio last year was 2,616 per 100,000 inhabitants, while for the whole of Italy this figure averages 2,051.

In terms of health care, Lazio is divided into districts that coincide with the provinces. The metropolitan city of Rome is further divided into six districts. All these districts are overarched by the regional health service Salute Lazio.

There are no fewer than 264 hospitals in the region. This is the link to the website of Salute Lazio, the regional health service of Lazio.

Holiday homes

Many foreign homeowners in this region chose urban housing in the city of Rome. However, the prices are very high. You easily pay 5,000 euros per m² for an apartment and in the historic centre even more than 8,000 euros/m². Others opted for an apartment in a seaside town in the province of Latina, for example in San Felice Circeo, Terracina, Formia, Sperlonga or Gaeta. In the interior of Lazio, more specifically in the mountainous area of the province of Rieti, house prices are very low.

Most beautiful towns and villages

Cività di Bagnoregio

Nothing is more beautiful than travelling from village to village, and there are plenty of beautiful towns in the Lazio region. The 23 most beautiful villages of Lazio are included in the guide “I Borghi Più belli d'Italia”. In the province of Frosinone these are Atina, Boville Ernica, Castro dei Volsci, and Pico. The province of Latina has 3 beautiful seaside villages: Gaeta Vecchia, Sperlonga and San Felice Circeo. In the province of Rome you will find Castel Gandolfo, Castel San Pietro Romano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Nemi, Percile and Subiaco. In Rieti: Amatrice, Castel di Tora, Collalto Sabino, Foglia (part of Magliano Sabina), Greccio and Orvinio. In the province of Viterbo: Civita Bagnoregio, Bassano in Teverina, Ronciglione, Sutri, Vitorchiano and Torre Alfina (part of Acquapendente).

Bolsena

Many other villages are mentioned in the guide “Bandieri Arancioni” of Touring Club Italiano: Arpina (FR), Bassiano (LT), Bolsena (VT), Bomarzo (VT), Calcata (VT), Campodimele (LT), Caprarola (VT), Casperia (RI), Collepardo (FR), Fossanova (LT), Labro (RI), Leonessa (RI), Picinisco (FR), San Donato Val di Comino (FR), Sermoneta (LT), Subiaco (RM), Trevignano Romano (RM), Tuscania (VT).