Lazio is in central Italy, on the western coast. The region was formerly known to English travellers by its Roman name, Latium, although this version of the name is now rarely used. A major port of call on the Grand Tour, when eighteenth-century travellers explored its scenic villages, Lazio is now largely overlooked in favour of its capital, Rome.
With so much investment, jobs and tourism concentrated in Rome, the surrounding region is often quiet, depopulated and rather run-down. For tourists, the good side of this is the tracts of unspoiled countryside, the dilapidated but surviving historic town centres, and the welcome you may receive. Tourists are rare creatures in many of Lazio's smaller towns, and once locals realise you are interested in their hometown they are generally delighted.
Italy's most underrated regions? Lazio is certainly in the running. Is there vacation life after Rome? Oh, how can we possibly count the many compelling towns, villages and archaeologlical sites? Certainly you know Tivoli and Hadrians Villa, the painted Etruscan tombs of Tarquinia and Cerveteri, the olives of coastal village Gaeta, Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome, the Castelli Romani and Frascati wine. The list goes on and on. You could spend a year wandering the 6,655 square miles of Lazio without a hint of boredom.
The birthplace of the Roman Empire and Renaissance, Italy, showcases many of the world’s greatest artworks, architectural buildings and over the top gastronomical proposals. This is the country where the word “style” expresses the whole nation. Italy has more Unesco World Heritage cultural sites than any other country; among them are Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera, Michelangelo’s David and Sistine Chapel and da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
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