Madrelingua Italiana

Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also the country’s capital and largest city. The region overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west and borders with Umbria, Tuscany and the Marches to the north, Abruzzo and Molise to the east, Campania to the south; it is distributed in the provinces of Frosinone, Latina (including the archipelago of the Ponziane islands), Rieti, Rome (regional capital as well as capital of Italy), and Viterbo. Tourism is the backbone of the regional economy; Lazio is one of the most important regions for Italian, European and world culture, for its historical, artistic, archaeological, architectural and religious contents. Rome, with its extraordinary heritage, as well as its role as a religious center and capital of Christianity with the Vatican City, is the top destination for tourists. Among visitors, the percentage of foreigners is the highest. There are hundreds of points of interest among cities, churches, monasteries, monuments and various sites in the region. In Lazio, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este in Tivoli and the Etruscan Necropolis of Cerveteri and Tarquinia are among the most important archaeological sites. Other relevant tourist sites are Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli, the monasteries of Montecassino, Subiaco, the medieval castles of the valley of comino located in the neighboring cities at the borders of Ciociaria with the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise and the Franciscan shrines of Greccio. The region was already a destination for cultural tourism since the end of the eighteenth century, when the archaeological walks came in vogue between the aristocracy, as the stages of the European aristocracy’ tours were suggesting frequent stops in the Lazio region.