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 sees the presence of the Etruscan civilization, then at the center of the Roman Empire, of the Holy Roman Empire, then of the Papal States, of the First French Empire 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, such as Bramante, Raffaello Sanzio, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michelangelo, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Leonardo da Vinci, 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.