Lazio

Lazio (UK: /ˈlætsioʊ/ LAT-see-oh, US: /ˈlɑːt-/ LAHT-, Italian: [ˈlattsjo]) or Latium (/ˈleɪʃiəm/ LAY-shee-əm, US also /-ʃəm/ -⁠shəm; from the original Latin name, pronounced [ˈɫati.ũː]) is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants and a GDP of more than €197 billion per year, making it the country's second most populated region and second largest regional economy after Lombardy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also the capital and largest city of Italy.

Lazio is rich in a multi-millennial heritage: it was the home of the Etruscan civilization, then stood at the center of the Roman Republic, of the Roman Empire, of the Papal States, of the Kingdom of Italy and of the Italian Republic. The historical, artistic, cultural, architectural, archaeological and religious heritage of Lazio is immensely vast and rich in cultural diversity. Some of the greatest artists and historical figures lived and worked in Rome, particularly during the Roman Renaissance period, such as Bramante, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, Pietro da Cortona, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rubens, Van Dyck and Diego Velázquez.

Today it constitutes a dynamic region. Lazio is a large center of services and international trade, industry, public services and tourism, supported by a privileged transport network thanks to its geographical position in the center of Italy and the presence of Rome within it.