Lazio

Lazio is the region of Rome, the Eternal City, but it is much more than its capital. Within an hour you reach the papal villas of Tivoli, the wine towns of the Castelli Romani, the Etruscan tombs of Tarquinia and Cerveteri, and the volcanic lakes of Bracciano and Bolsena. To the south the coast runs to Sperlonga and Gaeta, with Roman villas above the sea, while the Ponza islands offer some of the clearest water in the Tyrrhenian.

In the north, the Tuscia area around Viterbo keeps medieval towns of grey stone, such as Civita di Bagnoregio, the village on a crumbling hill, and thermal springs that have been used since antiquity.

A region that revolves around Rome, and much more

For many travellers Lazio is simply the frame around Rome, and the capital does weigh on everything: almost two thirds of the region's inhabitants live in the metropolitan area, and the ancient consular roads that leave Rome still shape the map today. The Aurelia runs north along the sea, the Cassia and the Flaminia head towards Etruria and Umbria, the Salaria towards Rieti, the Tiburtina towards Tivoli, and the Casilina and the Appian Way lead south. Once you leave the city's ring road, however, you find a surprisingly varied region: extinct volcanoes turned into lakes, hills covered with vineyards, medieval villages built of tuff, Benedictine abbeys, mountains above two thousand metres and more than three hundred kilometres of coastline with beaches and islands.

Rome, the Eternal City

No other city in the world packs so much history into so little space. In Rome you can walk from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, where the city was born, climb the Capitoline Hill designed by Michelangelo, step inside the Pantheon, the best preserved ancient temple, and cross the Baroque squares of Piazza Navona and Piazza di Spagna to reach the Trevi Fountain. Across the Tiber lie the Vatican, with St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, and Trastevere, the district of trattorias and narrow lanes. Rome deserves at least three or four days, but it is worth keeping one for the surroundings: the region rewards visitors with places that are less crowded and just as beautiful.

Tivoli and the Castelli Romani

Less than an hour east of the capital, Tivoli has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Villa d'Este, with hundreds of sixteenth-century fountains and water features, and Villa Adriana, the residence of Emperor Hadrian, a palace-city scattered among olive trees. South-east of Rome, the Alban Hills are an ancient volcano, and around its craters lie the Castelli Romani: Frascati, famous for its white wine; Castel Gandolfo, overlooking Lake Albano and for centuries the popes' summer residence; Ariccia, home of porchetta, the slow-roasted herbed pork; and Nemi, known for its wild strawberries and for the lake where Caligula's ships were found. At weekends Romans come up here to eat in the fraschette, simple taverns where you bring cold cuts and bread and drink the house wine by the jug.

Tuscia, the land of the Etruscans

Northern Lazio, known as Tuscia, was the heart of southern Etruria. The necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, both UNESCO sites, are cities of the dead with mound tombs and burial chambers painted with banquets, dances and games. Viterbo, the city of the popes, has one of the most intact medieval quarters in Italy, San Pellegrino, and hot thermal springs that have been used since Roman times bubble up in the surrounding countryside. Nearby, Civita di Bagnoregio is the village perched on a crumbling spur of tuff, reached only by a footbridge. Lake Bolsena, the largest volcanic lake in Europe, the Park of Monsters in Bomarzo, a Mannerist garden full of fantastic sculptures, and Caprarola with its pentagonal Palazzo Farnese complete the picture.

The sea, from the Roman coast to the Pontine Islands

The Lazio coast is long and varied. Close to Rome are Ostia, with the ruins of the ancient harbour town of Ostia Antica, one of the best preserved Roman cities anywhere, and the beaches where Romans spend their summer weekends. Further south the Circeo National Park protects dunes, coastal lakes and the Circeo promontory, linked to the myth of the sorceress Circe. Sperlonga, with its white houses on a rocky spur and the Grotto of Tiberius, and Gaeta, with the Split Mountain and its medieval quarter, are among the most beautiful seaside towns on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Offshore, the islands of Ponza and Ventotene offer coves of crystal-clear water, sea caves and a history that runs from imperial villas to the manifesto that inspired the idea of a united Europe.

Mountains, abbeys and southern Lazio

Few people know that you can ski in Lazio: Monte Terminillo, above Rieti, is called Rome's mountain, and the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park extends onto the Lazio side as well. In the province of Frosinone, known as Ciociaria, stand abbeys that shaped the history of monasticism: Montecassino, founded by Saint Benedict and rebuilt after its destruction in 1944, and Casamari and Fossanova, masterpieces of Cistercian Gothic. Anagni, another city of the popes, has an extraordinary frescoed crypt, while Alatri and Ferentino are surrounded by megalithic walls older than Rome itself. In the Holy Valley near Rieti are the Franciscan sanctuaries of Greccio, where Saint Francis created the first nativity scene, and Fonte Colombo.

Food and wine

The cooking of Lazio is simple and bold. Roman pasta has four classics: carbonara, amatriciana (born in Amatrice), gricia and cacio e pepe. Pecorino romano cheese, guanciale (cured pork cheek), artichokes cooked Roman-style or Jewish-style, abbacchio (milk-fed lamb), oxtail stew and supplì, fried rice balls with a heart of mozzarella, tell the story of the capital's popular tradition. Outside Rome you find the porchetta of Ariccia, the olives of Gaeta, buffalo mozzarella from the Pontine plain and the hazelnuts of the Cimini hills. Among the wines, besides Frascati, there are Cesanese del Piglio, Est! Est!! Est!!! from Montefiascone and the whites of the Castelli.

Experiences not to miss

Beyond the great monuments, Lazio offers experiences that stay with you. Cycling along the Appian Way, among tombs, catacombs and umbrella pines, is one of the most beautiful ways to leave Rome behind. A soak in the free thermal pools around Viterbo, perhaps on a winter evening, has an ancient feel. In spring you can explore the Farfa gorges or the little-known lakes of Posta Fibreno and Canterno, full of water birds. In summer a boat trip around Ponza reveals coves reachable only from the sea, while in autumn Tuscia celebrates chestnuts, new olive oil and wine with village festivals almost everywhere. Walkers can follow the Via Francigena, which crosses the region from Proceno to Rome, or the Way of Saint Benedict, from Norcia to Montecassino.

When to go and how to get around

Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with mild weather, beautiful light and fewer crowds than in summer, when Rome can be very hot. July and August are the months for the beaches and the islands, while winter is the time for the thermal baths of Tuscia and the snow of the Terminillo. Rome has good regional train connections to Tivoli, the Castelli, Viterbo, Civitavecchia and the southern coast as far as Formia, where ferries leave for Ponza and Ventotene. For the villages of Tuscia, Ciociaria and the mountains, a car makes everything easier. Fiumicino and Ciampino airports serve the whole region, with flights from across Europe and the rest of the world.