Lazio

The region of Latium is home to Italy's capital city of Rome and had been an important point of stop of the "Grand Tour" when, during the eighteenth century, many English travelers explored its scenic villages; the area surrounding Rome comprises towns which, in spite of being overlooked by the Eternal City, offer treasures of its own, which the attentive traveler will not miss to admire.
Bordering in the north and west with Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo and Molise regions, with Campania on the south side, Latium offers a rich cultural, architectural and religious heritage with a large number of wonderful sights places in all its provinces where stoned streets, old castles and walled towns recall solemn ceremonies and religious rites.
In the past, the expectation of the visit of Rome, suspended, in the travelers' mind, the faculty to see around, to explore the lands surroundings their looks, and remember, but there is, as mentioned above, a large variety to landscapes, environments, arts, contained within the borders of Region.
Trying to quickly catalogue: the Tyrrhenian coast, full of memories of ancient harbors (Aeneas at the village of Lavinio, Ulysses at Circeo, Saracens pirates at the banks of Garigliano river), fantastic locations where it's still possible to discover the sense of landscape and mediterranean scrub; then the pleasant Castelli Romani, with the resorts in the woods, small volcanic lakes, green hills, vineyards and the noble villas belonging in the past to Popes and roman princes. The Etruscan lands, on north of Rome, first example of Italian civilization, with the towns of Viterbo, Tarquinia and Cerveteri, where the remote atmosphere of Romanesque churches and cave tombs strikes the observer's eye; unfortunately, large part of the treasures found, tableware and many other gold plates, had been stolen or destroyed soon after the openings of the these tombs. A passage to Ostia and Villa Adriana in Tivoli can't be missed: the ruins of a cosmopolitan town, the first, built and grown rich with the maritime trades to feed the huge capital of the Empire; then Villa Adriana, one of the biggest Villa of the roman empire but full of classical greek memories. If the traveler, during the Grand Tour of the region on its southern side, decides to make a stop over the lands of Ciociaria, will be came as surprise by its villages of Anagni, Palestrina, placed along high and difficult tracks of hills, rich of romanesque and medieval traces but above all centuries-old popular traditions are still passionately observed. A nice itinerary, which can be no doubt recommended, is the Circeo, an area which offers, although covers just a few square kilometers, a wide variety of features: ancient caves, enchanting beaches, lakes populated by numerous species of birds, abrupt cliffs. At the end of journey, our traveler does not give up to spend few days enjoying the marvels of Rome, sitting on the steps of Trinità dei Monti, tasting an ice-cream or sipping a coffee in the square of the Pantheon with the sky painted with all the colors of the sunset.
The food and wine experiences deserve a specific mention: the Pecorino Romano, kind of cheese made with sheep milk, which recall rural life and culture of the hilly area of north Lazio close to the borders of Umbria e Le Marche regions, Carciofi alla Giudia, artichokes cooked in the Jewish style with a simple recipe of three ingredients: artichokes, olive oil, and salt. Abbacchio alla romana, spring lamb often cooked in oven, especially during the Easter and Christmas period.
If one choice would be needed among these various places, which could fully represent the region, the village of Tivoli should be that one, because of its plurality of cultural involvements, but in this Region, every choice means renounce.