Knowing and discovering Lazio is a bit like leafing through a history book: each page is linked to the other by a series of events that have left their mark on this splendid area. So is Rome, the “eternal city”: a set of tracks to follow in order to reconstruct the history of our ancestors.
The first stop then, in the heart of Rome, is the majestic Colosseum, also known as the “Flavian Amphitheater”, home to the circus games where gladiators fought. The Via dei Fori Imperiali, which starts from the Colosseum, leads along the archaeological route par excellence, a complex unique in the world of temples, basilicas, public and sacred buildings surrounded by green vegetation, of which the Roman Forum is the heart.
The archaeological finds and works of inestimable value, found during excavations, are largely kept in the Capitoline museums, on the Capitol, which was the acropolis of the ancient city. Not far away is the Marcello Theater and the famous Bocca della Verità, marble sculpture, close to the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, which represents the face of a faun: a face that, according to legend, would swallow the hand of those who lie.
The visit to the capital continues following the Lungotevere up to Castel Sant’Angelo, mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian, which was a refuge for the popes and was also used as a prison. The Vatican city, seat of the Papal States, is a mandatory stop, with the famous San Pietro square and the magnificence of the Sistine chapel, where we can admire the “Last Judgment”, a sixteenth-century masterpiece by Michelangelo.
Rome is home to the main institutions of the country and you cannot forget its palaces, its basilicas and its squares such as the Spanish Steps, with the famous staircase of Trinità dei Monti, Piazza Farnese and Piazza Navona with the Fountain of the Four Rivers of the Bernini; not to mention the eighteenth-century Trevi Fountain, where, according to tradition, tourists throw a coin as a wish to return to the eternal city.
In the surroundings of Rome, the Castelli Romani are an attraction for those who love light-hearted outings and a cool refuge during the hot summer nights. Ostia instead, in addition to a well-known seaside resort on the Lazio coast, is worth a visit for its excavations of ancient Ostia, one of the best examples of Roman cities that has come down to us.
About 40 kilometers from Rome, Tivoli is definitely worth a visit with its two splendid villas, Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este, declared World Heritage by UNESCO.
But the other provinces of Lazio also reserve pleasant surprises. An important city center since ancient times, Rieti is rich in testimonies from both Roman and medieval times, a period in which the city was a free municipality and then residence of popes. The capital of Latina and its province, on the other hand, offer splendid beaches, overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea, but also suggestive villages and the nature of the Circeo National Park.
Lots of greenery and enchanting medieval villages characterize Tuscia and its capital: an oasis for good food and relaxation, between Etruscan heritage and the Via Francigena. Still little known, despite the many beauties of the area, Ciociaria and its capital offer visitors splendid landscapes, suggestive villages surrounded by greenery and historical testimonies.