Lazio

:"For the football club, see S.S. Lazio"Infobox Region of Italy
name = Lazio
fullname = Latium
isocode =
capital = Rome
status = Region
governor = Piero Marrazzo ("Democratic Party")
province = 5
municipality = 378
language = Italian
arearank = 9th
area = 17,208
areapercent = 5.7
population_as_of = 2007 est.
populationrank = 3rd
population = 5,561,017
populationpercent = 9.3
populationdensity = 323.2

Lazio ("Latium" in Latin) is a "regione" of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Marche, Molise, Campania and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Lazio is notable for its history, art, architecture, archaeology, religion and culture.

Geography

Lazio is divided into five provinces:

*Frosinone
*Latina
*Rieti

*Rome (Roma)
*Viterbo

History

The name of the region also survives in the tribal designation of the ancient population of LatinsFact|date=November 2007, from whom the Romans originatedFact|date=November 2007. In Roman mythology, the shadowy king Latinus allegedly gave his name to the regionFact|date=November 2007. The name is most likely derived from the Latin word "latus", meaning "wide", expressing the idea of "flat land"Fact|date=November 2007 (in contrast to the local Sabine high country) but the name may originate from an earlier, non Indo-European one. Latium, originally inhabited by the Latins, extended its boundaries to the territories of the Sanniti, the Marsi and Campania thanks to the Roman conquests, taking in the lands of the Ernici, the Equi, the Aurunci and Volsci. This territory was called Latium Novi to differentiate it from Latium veteres, which indicated the original boundaries.

During the Augustus' administrative system, Latium - together with the present region of Campania- was the first Italian region. After the Gothic war (535-554) and the Byzantine conquest, this region regained its freedom, because the "Roman Duchy" became the property of the Eastern Emperor. However the long wars against the Longobards impaired the region which was seized by the Roman Bishop who already had several properties in those territories.

The strengthening of the religious and ecclesiastical aristocracy led to continuous power struggles between lords and the Roman bishop until the middle of the XVI century. Innocent III tried to strengthen his own territorial power, wishing to assert his authority on the provincial administrations of Tuscia, Campagna and Marittima through the Church's representatives, in order to tear down the Colonna's power. Other popes tried to do the same.

During the Avignon period the feudal lords' power increased thanks to the absence of the Pope from Rome. Small communes, and Rome above all, opposed the lords power raise and with Cola di Rienzo tried to put themselves up as antagonists of the ecclesiastical power. Between 1353 and 1367 the restoration of the pontifical authority brought to a total retrieval of Latium and the rest of the Pontifical States . From the middle of the 16th century the pontifical power's victory unified Latium's history with that of the Pontifical StatesFact|date=November 2007 becoming the provincial administrations of St. Peter's estate, with a governor in Viterbo and of Marittima and Campagna and one in Frosinone.

After the short Roman Republic and the region's annexation to France, by Napoleon I, Latium became again part of the Pontifical States. In 1870 when the French troops abandoned Rome, General Cadorna entered the pontifical territory, occupying Rome on the 20th of September and Latium was enclosed within the Kingdom of Italy.

Economy

Agriculture, crafts, animal husbandry and fishery are the main traditional sources of income. Agriculture is characterized by the cultivation of wine grapes, fruit, vegetables and olives.

Industrial development in Lazio is limited to the areas south of Rome. Communications have influenced the position of industry, favouring the areas with the best links to Rome and those near the Autostrada del Sole (motorway), especially around Frosinone. Firms are often small to medium in size and operate in the building and building materials (Rome, Civitavecchia), paper (Sora), petrochemical (Gaeta, Rome), textile (Frosinone), engineering (Rieti, Anagni), automobile (Cassino), electronic and electrotechnical (Viterbo) sectors.

Approximately 73% of the working population are employed in the services sector; this is a considerable proportion, but is justified by the presence of Rome, which is the core of public administration, banking, tourism, insurance and other sectors. Many national and multinational corporations, public and private, have their headquarters in Rome (ENI, Enel, Finmeccanica, Alitalia, RAI).

Politics

Rome is center-left politically oriented by tradition, while the rest of Lazio is center-right oriented. In the 2008 general election, Lazio gave 44.2% of its vote to the centre-right coalition, while the centre-left block took 41.4% of vote.

Demographics

The population distribution is influenced by Rome, where 55% of the population is concentrated. The presence of the capital of Italy gives Lazio the fourth highest density of population in the country. As of 2006, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 275,065 foreign-born immigrants live in Lazio, equal to 5.2% of the total regional population. 9% of Italy's population is in Lazio, and 55% of Lazio's population is in Rome.

Towns of Lazio with a population of 50,000 or more:

References

External links

* [http://www.regione.lazio.it/ Official Site of the Regione Lazio] it
* [http://www.eng.regione.lazio.it/web2/contents/eng/ Official Site of the Regione Lazio] en icon
* [http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/maps/italy/lazio.gifMap of Lazio] it
* [http://webuser.unicas.it/linguistica/dlm/ Dialects of southern Lazio]