Lazio (UK: /ˈlætsioʊ/ LAT-see-oh, US: /ˈlɑːt-/ LAHT-; Italian: [ˈlattsjo]) or Latium (/ˈleɪʃiəm/ LAY-shee-əm, US also /-ʃəm/ -⁠shəm;[4][5][6][7] from the original Latin name, pronounced [ˈɫati.ũː]) is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy.

In remote antiquity, Lazio (Latium) included only a limited part of the current region, between the lower course of the Tiber, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Monti Sabini and the Pontine Marshes.

[8] After the end of World War II and the fall of the Fascist regime Lazio and Italy saw rapid economic growth, in particular in Rome.

Lazio comprises a land area of 17,242 km2 (6,657 sq mi) and it has borders with Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo and Molise to the east, Campania to the south, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west.

The coast of Lazio is mainly composed of sandy beaches, punctuated by the headlands of Cape Circeo (541 m) and Gaeta (171 m).

The central section of the region is occupied by the Roman Campagna, a vast alluvial plain surrounding the city of Rome, with an area of approximately 2,100 km2 (811 sq mi).

Apart from the mythical derivation of Lazio given by the ancients as the place where Saturn, ruler of the golden age in Latium, hid (latuisset)[9] from Jupiter there,[10] a major modern etymology is that Lazio comes from the Latin word "latus", meaning "wide",[11] expressing the idea of "flat land" meaning the Roman Campagna.

The lands originally inhabited by the Latini were extended into the territories of the Samnites, the Marsi, the Hernici, the Aequi, the Aurunci and the Volsci, all surrounding Italic tribes.

The emperor Augustus officially united almost all of present-day Italy into a single geo-political entity, Italia, dividing it into eleven regions.

The strengthening of the religious and ecclesiastical aristocracy led to continuous power struggles between secular lords (Baroni) and the Pope until the middle of the 16th century.

During the period when the papacy resided in Avignon, France (1309–1377), the feudal lords' power increased due to the absence of the Pope from Rome.

On 20 September 1870 the capture of Rome, during the reign of Pope Pius IX, and France's defeat at Sedan, completed Italian unification, and Lazio was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.

Firms are often small to medium in size and operate in the There is some R&D activity in high technology: IBM (IBM Rome Software Lab), Ericsson, Leonardo Electronics (Rome-Tiburtina, Rome-Laurentina, Pomezia, Latina),[16] Rheinmetall ("Radar House") and tire industry: Bridgestone (R&D center in Rome and proving grounds in Aprilia).

According to Istat data relating to 2018, Lazio is one of the most visited regions in Italy and Europe and one of the first in terms of number of international presences.

[21] Lazio has many small and picturesque villages, 25 of them have been selected by I Borghi più belli d'Italia (English: The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[22] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[23] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.

The table below shows the GDP, produced in Lazio at current market prices in 2006,[25] expressed in millions of euros, broken down into the main economic macro-activities: The unemployment rate stood at 7.7% in 2022.

As of January 2023, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 615,108 foreign-born immigrants live in Lazio, equal to 11.1% of the total regional population.

Although Roman and Lazio cuisine use cheap ingredients like vegetable and pasta, poor people needed a source of protein.

Therefore, they used the so-called "quinto quarto" ("fifth quarter"), leftovers from animal carcasses that remained after the sale of prized parts to the wealthy.

Quinto quarto includes tripe (the most valuable part of reticulum, also called "cuffia", "l'omaso" or "lampredotto"), kidneys (which need to be soaked for a long time in water with lemon to remove urine smell), heart, liver, spleen, sweetbreads (pancreas, thymus and salivary glands), brain, tongue, ox tail, trotters and pajata (intestines of calf, fed only with its mother's milk).

Typical dishes of this style are: Traditional meat dishes include saltimbocca alla romana (veal wrapped with prosciutto di Parma DOP and sage and cooked in white wine, butter and flour) and abbacchio alla romana (roasted lamb with garlic, rosemary, pepper and chopped prosciutto).

The region has two professional clubs in the top flight, the other being AS Roma, who also play in the highest division of Italian football.

The main sports stadium in Lazio is Stadio Olimpico in Rome which has housed both teams for a prolonged time and hosts Derby della Capitale between the two clubs.