LAZIO - Geography and hitory
Divided administratively into five provinces (Viterbo, Rieti, Rome, Latina and Frosinone) and with an area of 17 227 km2, Lazio is split geologically into three areas which run parallel to the coast: an interior area of limestone mountains, an intermediate area marked by seismic features and a coastal area of alluvial plains. Mountains comprise 26% of the territory, with the highest peak rising to 2 455 m, while hills and plains account for 54% and 20% respectively of the territory. The climate is maritime along the coast, temperate in the hill areas and continental in the mountains.

Lazio lies almost at the centre of Italy. The Vatican City State is located within Rome itself. Since the unification of Italy the area around the city has been greatly influenced by the capital, whereas the rest of the region, comprising territories which formerly belonged to other States, has retained some of the social and cultural characteristics of these other areas.

Stable employment and potential to be exploited

One of the strengths of the region is the stability in the working population. The city of Rome (which, according to the last Census in 2001, has nearly 50% of the total population of the region) accommodates various government ministries and head offices of State-run bodies, national banks and a wide variety of other organisations. This means that a large proportion of those in employment benefit from 'job security', and even if in 2002, 10% of employees had a fixed term contract. This advantage also hides a weakness, however, since it has prevented the development of an entrepreneurial class with modern business skills. The fact is that the existence of so many people with 'safe jobs' has in turn ensured the growth of retail, craft and services activities, which also 'play safe'. While this situation has eroded the social differences which are more apparent in other regions of the country, the widespread prosperity of the region has attracted workers from outside the EU who are bringing with them the inevitable problems of immigrant labour.

The centralisation of economic activities in the capital encourages heavy daily commuting into Rome, in spite of the fact that public transport is inadequate to face the demand. The result is constant congestion on the roads, causing both air and noise pollution. The region possesses a wealth of museums and works of art which are spread throughout its territory.

Thanks to the Jubilee in the year 2000, these have been given proper publicity, in order to generate more tourism and visitors steered towards the smaller towns in the region.

Population and economic activity concentrated around Rome

The domination of Rome and the effects of certain political and economic decisions in the past have split Lazio into two distinct parts. Upper Lazio, comprising the provinces of Viterbo and Rieti (with 37% of the region's area and 8.5% of its population), has an economic structure based on family and small firms, while lower Lazio, which consists of the provinces of Latina and Frosinone (32% of the region's area and 19% of the population), is more developed industrially due to the presence of big industries.

Between the two lies the province of Rome, with a much higher population density and where industry and high-tech services coexist. The smaller provinces are still at a disadvantage because, apart from the road network (basically all roads still lead only to Rome), there are differences in the provision of other infrastructures as well



Latium region is crossed by 3 volcanic mountain ranges: the Volsini, the Cimini and the Sabatini Mountains, whose principal craters are now lakes: Bolsena, Vico and Bracciano. They range from the Tiber's downstream in the north- east to the south-western coastal strip called Maremma Laziale, cut off near Civitavecchia by the mountains of Tolfa, of volcanic origin, too.
The Maremma Laziale meets the Roman Countryside, crossed by the Tiber. It is surrounded by the Alban Hills, the Prenestini Mountains, by the calcareous heights of Simbruini, Ernici, Meta and Mainarde, which are part of the Abruzzi Apennines, and by the calcareous mountains of Lepini, Ausoni and Aurunci crossed by the Apennines and by the wide downstream of the rivers Sacco (Ciociaria) and Liri. At the mountain's foot there are the Pontine Marshes, once a swampy area and now reclaimed, the Fondi Plain and the coastal plain between Gaeta and the low course of the river Garigliano. If we climb up the Tiber's downstream we come to the Sabine region.

Between the Sabine Mountains and the Reatini ones the wide plain of Rieti opens out, followed inland by the plains of Leonessa and Amatrice and southeast by the river Sacco's downstream.
Coasts are mainly low-lying and flat with some headlands, formed by isolated heights - once islands - or by the end of ridges or by the outlet of the Tiber itself.
The Pontine Islands are part of Latium too.



Lazio is found in central Italy, located on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It borders with Tuscany, Marches, Umbria, Abruzzi, Campania and Molise. In general, Lazio has a mild climate thanks to the influence of the Mediterranean Sea.
Lazio’s population accounts for about 9% of total Italian population with 5.205.139 inhabitants divided into the 5 provinces, Rome (the capital), and from the more populated to the least populated, Latina, Frosinone, Viterbo and Rieti, in their turn divided into 378 municipalities.
Lazio offers a variety of landscapes including lakes, mountains and sea… and a lot of chances from the point of view of tourism.
For those who want to discover Lazio history and origins throughout monuments, archaeological sites and ruins of ancient populations the region offers a wide range of possibilities.
Lazio also allows tourists to choose a different kind of tourism, discovering the oeno-gastronomic itineraries and showing the unique traditions and peculiarities of Lazio cooking style.
In addition to this, nature is another of the special features making our Region an ideal place for vacations and relax.
And, to conclude, Lazio hosts lots of events, fairs, exhibitions in the frame of entertainment in general, all initiatives are aimed at bettering tourist offer and making the Region attractive both to foreigners and Italian visitors.

If you want to know more about Lazio and its seductive tourist attractions and initiatives you can easily download our Online Tourist Guide from our Media Gallery. You can choose the PDF file to better use it on your pc! You can also see the guide in prc format to use the ebook on your Symbian PDA. Otherwise, if you prefer, you can download the lit format to watch the guide on the Win PDA.
Anyway, we suggest to browse our website for more interesting information about Lazio and its beautiful places.


http://www.turislazio.it/index.php/turismo_eng/do_you_want_to_know_more_about_lazio
http://www.turislazio.it/index.php/turismo_eng/essential_guide_to_lazio
http://www.turislazio.it/index.php/turismo_eng/lazio_info/morphology
http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite4_geo.htm