Travel To Lazio

Rome, once the centre of the Roman Empire, endured several barbaric invasions after the collapse of the empire, entering a long period of social and economical decline. As the empire declined, the city progressively became the centre of the Christian world and during the Renaissance, the pontifical court rearranged the city with the help of the greatest artists of the time. The city became a capital of the united Italy in 1871. The richness of the history of the city is visible in the splendid urban structure, the many wonderful buildings and churches, the eclectic mixture of architectural styles from the Etruscan to Classical Rome, from the Renaissance to the Baroque.

The region is also renown for its wonderful monasteries, such as the Abbey of Montecassino, the Abbey of San Benedetto and the Abbey of Casamari, as well as its villas and their gardens: the most curious of which is the Parco dei Mostri (the Park of the Monsters) in Bomarzo.

The geography of the region has a variety of features: the flat plains of the Roman and Pontino countryside are flanked by the mountains of the Lazio Pre-Apennines and the Abruzzo Apennines. The territory of the region was originally formed by the eruption of four volcanoes whose craters then became lakes. It is mostly a mixture of plains and hills, with mountains in the area of Rieti and in the north an area of lower mountains. The river Tiber flows through Lazio and is the third largest river in Italy after the Po and the Adige. Lake Bracciano, Bolsena and Albano are the main lakes of the region.

The economy of the region has developed with the growth in industry. Among the main industries are machinery manufacturing, metallurgy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, food, paper, publishing, building and defence. Nevetheless, agriculture still plays an important role the main crops produced are cereal, fruit, vines and olive, and breeding sheep, pigs and cattle.

Memorable meals in the region of Lazio begin with variety of antipasti that include platters of frutti di mare, pizze, focacce, canapés, vegetable tarts, frittate with potatoes and onions, croquettes of rice, vegetables or meats, breads grilled and flavored with garlic and oil (bruschetta) or sliced and topped with meat and vegetable pastes or cheeses (crostini). Also typical are the spaghetti alla carbonara and bucatini all’amatriciana.

Among the many wonderful vegetables produced in the region are the famous Romano artichokes tender enough to eat raw, or to fry in the style of Rome’s Jewish ghetto as carciofi alla giudia. Pecorino Romano DOP prevails among cheeses, though some is also produced in Sardinia and southern Tuscany.

The hills in the north of Lazio are noted for the production of extra virgin olive oils, protected under the DOPs of Canino and Sabina.

Pork is prized as porchetta, roasted by butchers in the Castelli Romani and sliced warm for sandwiches at the street markets. Many recipes rely on guanciale, salt pork from the jowl, though the traditional lard has been steadily replaced as a cooking fat by olive oil from the Sabine hills.

White wines dominate Lazio’s production, whose 23 DOCs are led by the versatile Frascati and Marino from the Castelli Romani and the mythical Est! Est!! Est!!! from Montefiascone to the north. Yet some of the finest wines are reds of Cerveteri, Velletri, a trio from the Cesanese vine or unclassified bottles based on Cabernet and Merlot.