Lazio Travel Guide

When in Rome, you’re in Lazio. Beyond this mother-load of history, architecture, culture, Catholicism, art and most importantly, food—you’ll find in cities and towns beyond Rome and the Papal city treasures such as the Etruscan Tombs of Tarquinia and stunning volcanic lakes in many parts of the region. One excursion beyond Rome is the National Park of Gran Sasso and the Laga Mountains near the city of Rieti. Here you’ll find panoramas of the region (with some physical effort) as well as lesser-known naturally occurring thermal baths or “termes” which are a popular and regular medical solution with many new school and old school Italians alike. They can also be found in a more formal and spa-like atmosphere in cities such as Viterbo, Tivoli and Fiuggi. In Rome, you’ll feast on countless street vendors providing quick and delicious snacks such as “telefono,” a Roman specialty of risotto stuffed with cheese and fried to crispy perfection (when you bite into it and try to pull it away from your mouth, you create a telephone cord—telefono). Lamb is also a popular dish on traditional restaurant menus and Rome is arguably the home of antipasti—cold, usually vegetable or cured meat appetizers common in all of Italy. Coffee is an important part of Roman history as well as the regions’. The first espresso machine was invented here; it’s customary to stop a few times a day to stand and enjoy a delicious and hot espresso (but never with milk after noon in Italy).