Latium at a Glance
Bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea, Latium's capital Rome
(Roma) and the sovereign Vatican
State, account for the region's, and indeed country's, largest number of
visitors—lured by the staggering number of attractions within each. But outside
of Rome's famous Colosseum
and the Vatican's Sistine
Chapel, Latium (Lazio) provides many attractions worth the wander
from these busy centres.
Firstly, there is the coast, littered with beaches worthy of any sun-seeker
or beach-comber. Tivoli,
a quick day trip east of Rome, was made popular as a Roman resort town. Hadrian's
Villa (Villa Hadriana), was built by its namesake, Emperor Hadrian,
in the 2nd century A.D., and is almost a town in itself, once comprising more
than 30 buildings, a pool, an artificial grotto and temples. Nearby, Villa
d'Este is celebrated for its lavish gardens and grand fountains. Historians
can trace the path of the mysterious Etruscans, who left markers of their existence
and culture along the Tyrrhenian coastline, stretching north from Cerveteri
to Tarquinia.
Northwest of Rome, Viterbo
is an important medieval centre and was once home to the popes, whose former
residences' now play host to tourists. Located only 3 km (2 mi) west of Viterbo,
the hot sulphur baths of the Therme
dei Papi are a soothing retreat.
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