
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in which the city of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
was founded and grew to be the capital city of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (
Old Latium
or ' () is a region of the Italian Peninsula bounded to the north by the Tiber, Tiber River, to the east by the central Apennine Mountains, to the west by the Mediterranean Sea and to the south by Monte Circeo. It was the territory of the Latins ...
) on which resided the tribe of the
Latins or Latians.
It was located on the left bank (east and south) of the
River Tiber, extending northward to the
River Anio (a left-bank tributary of the Tiber) and southeastward to the Pomptina Palus (
Pontine Marshes, now the Pontine Fields) as far south as the
Circeian promontory.
The right bank of the Tiber was occupied by the Etruscan city of
Veii, and the other borders were occupied by
Italic tribes. Subsequently, Rome defeated Veii and then its Italic neighbours, expanding its dominions over Southern
Etruria and to the south, in a partly marshy and partly mountainous region. The latter saw the creation of numerous Roman and Latin colonies: small Roman colonies were created along the coast, while the inland areas were colonized by Latins and Romans without citizenship. The name Latium was thus also extended to this area south of Rome (
Latium adiectum), up to the ancient
Oscan city of
Casinum, defined by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
as "the last city of the Latins".
The modern descendant, the
Italian ''
Regione'' of
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
, also called ''Latium'' in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, and occasionally in modern
English, is somewhat larger still, though less than twice the size of Latium vetus et adiectum, including a large area of ancient Southern Etruria and Sabina.
The ancient language of the Latins, the tribespeople who occupied Latium, was the immediate predecessor of the
Old Latin
Old Latin, also known as Early, Archaic or Priscan Latin (Classical ), was the Latin language in the period roughly before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. A member of the Italic languages, it descends from a common Proto-Italic ...
language, ancestor of
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and the
Romance languages
The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
. Latium has played an important role in history owing to its status as the host of the capital city of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, at one time the cultural and political center of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. Consequently, Latium is home to celebrated works of
art and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
.
Geography
The earliest known Latium was the country of the
Latini, a tribe whose recognised center was a large, dormant volcano,
Mons Albanus ("the Alban Mount", today's
Colli Albani), to the southeast of Rome, in circumference. In its center is a crater lake, Lacus Albanus (
Lago Albano), oval in shape, a few km long and wide. At the top of the second-highest peak (
Monte Cavo) was a temple to
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
Latiaris, where the Latini held state functions before their subjection to Rome, and the Romans subsequently held religious and state ceremonies. The last pagan temple to be built stood until the Middle Ages when its stone and location were reused for various monasteries and finally a hotel. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
turned it into a radio station, which was captured after an infantry battle by American troops in 1944, and it currently is a controversial telecommunications station surrounded by antennas considered unsightly by the population within view.
The selection of Jupiter as a state god and the descent of the name Latini to the name of the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
language are sufficient to identify the Latins as a tribe of
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
descent.
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
, a major poet of the early
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, under
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, derived Latium from the word for "hidden" (English latent) because in a myth
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
, ruler of the
golden age in Latium, hid (latuisset) from Jupiter there.
A major modern etymology is that Lazio comes from the Latin word "latus", meaning "wide", expressing the idea of "flat land" meaning the
Roman Campagna.
History
The region that would become Latium had been home to settled agricultural populations since the early
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
and was known to the
Ancient Greeks and even earlier to the
Mycenaean Greeks.
[Emilio Peruzzi, ''Mycenaeans in early Latium'', (Incunabula Graeca 75), Edizioni dell'Ateneo & Bizzarri, Roma, 1980] The name is most likely derived from the Latin word "''latus''", meaning "wide", expressing the idea of "flat land" (in contrast to the local
Sabine
The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome.
The Sabines divided int ...
high country). The
Etruscans, from their home region of
Etruria, exerted a strong cultural and political influence on Latium from about the 8th century BC onward. However, they were unable to assert political hegemony over the region, which was controlled by small, autonomous
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
s in a manner roughly analogous to the state of affairs that prevailed in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
. Indeed, the region's cultural and geographic proximity to the cities of
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...
had a strong impact upon its early history.
By the 10th century BC, archaeology records a slow development in agriculture from the entire area of Latium with the establishment of numerous villages.
The Latins cultivated grains (spelt and barley), grapes (
Vitis vinifera
''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern ...
), olives, apples, and fig trees. The various ''Latini populi'' (lit. "Latin peoples") lived in a society led by influential clans (''gentes'').
[ Giovanni Colonna, ''Milieu, peuplement, phases naturelles'', in ''Naissence de Rome'', cataloged by the Petit Palais, 1977] These clans were a sign of their tribal origin, which continued in Rome as the thirty ''
curiae'' which organized Roman society. However, as a social unit the ''gens'' was replaced by the family which was headed by the ''
paterfamilias'' - the oldest male who held supreme authority over the family.
[M. Cary, H.H. Scullard p. 32]
A fixed local center seemed necessary as the center of the region cannot have been one of the villages, but must have been a place of common assembly, containing the seat of justice and the common sanctuary of the district, where members of the clans met for purposes of administration and amusement, and where they obtained a safer shelter for themselves in case of war: in ordinary circumstances such a place was not at all or but scantily inhabited. Such a place was called in Italy "height" (''capitolium'', the mountain-top), or "stronghold" (''arx'', from ''arcere''); it was not a town at first, but it became the nucleus of one, as houses naturally gathered around the stronghold and were afterwards surrounded with the "ring" (''urbs'', connected with ''urvus'' and ''curvus'').
The isolated Alban range, that natural stronghold of Latium, which offered to settlers a secure position, would doubtless be first occupied by the newcomers. Here, along the narrow plateau above
Palazzuola between the
Alban lake (''Lagiod di Castello'') and the
Alban mount (''Monte Cavo''), extended the town of
Alba Longa
Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latins (Italic tribe), Latin city in Central Italy in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. The ancient Romans believed it to be the founder and head of the ...
, which was regarded as the primitive seat of the Latin stock, and the mother city of Rome as well as of all the other Old Latin communities; here on the slopes lay the very ancient Latin districts of Lanuvium, Aricia, and Tusculum. Here too are found some primitive works of masonry, which usually mark the beginnings of civilization.
The district-strongholds there later gave rise to the considerable towns of
Tibur and
Praeneste.
Labici too,
Gabii,
Nomentum in the plain between the Alban and Sabine hills and the Tiber, Rome on the Tiber,
Laurentum
Laurentum was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia Antica, Ostia and Lavinium, on the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as the original capital of Italy, before Lavin ...
and
Lavinium on the coast, were all more or less ancient centers of Latin colonization, not to speak of many other less famous and in some cases almost forgotten.
Latin League
All these villages were politically sovereign, and each of them was self-governing. The closeness of descent and their common language not only pervaded all of them, but manifested itself in an important religious and political institution—the Latin League. The Latins were tied together by religious associations, including worship of Venus, Jupiter Latiaris, and of Diana at the Lake of Ariccia. So, by virtue of her proximity to the sanctuary of Jupiter, the village of Alba Longa held a position of religious primacy among the Latin villages. Originally, thirty villages were entitled to participate in the league, known as the Alban colonies. Only a few of the individual names of these villages are recorded.
The ritual of this league was the "Latin festival" (''feriae Latinae''), at which, on the Mount of Alba, upon a day annually appointed by the chief magistrate for the purpose, an ox was sacrificed by the assembled Latin stock to the "Latin god" (''Jupiter Latiaris''). Each community taking part in the ceremony had to contribute to the sacrificial feast.
[Mommsen p. 39] However; the sacred grove of Aricia, the ''Nemus Dianae'', on the
Lake of Aricia, was always among the most popular place of pilgrimage for the Latins.
[Viscount James Bryce Bryce ]
The World's History: The Mediterranean nations
'. London (1902). p. 343
Although Alba Longa enjoyed a position of religious primacy, the Alban presidency never held any significant political power over Latium, e.g. it was never the capital of a Latin state.
It is probable that the extent of the Latin League's jurisdiction was somewhat unsettled and thus fluctuated; yet it remained for its existence not an accidental aggregate of various communities, but the positive expression of the relationship of the Latin stock. The Latin League may not have at all times included all Latin communities, but it never granted the privilege of membership to any that were not Latin.
Very early in its existence, Rome acquired the presidency of the league, and Alba Longa appeared as a rival for which it was destroyed in the mid-7th century BC; the league, as it was, had been dissolved and the foremost families were compelled to move to Rome: Alba Longa, the mother city, was dissolved into Rome, the daughter.
According to
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
, Alba Longa was razed to the ground - spare the temples - by King
Tullus of Rome. The Latin festival would still be held on the Alban mount, but by Roman magistrates.
Roman hegemony
Having destroyed Alba Longa, Rome was in command of the Latin festival and thus held presidency over the Latin peoples. By the mid-7th century BC, Rome had secured itself as a maritime power and secured its salt supply; the ''
Via Salaria'' (lit. "salt road") was paved from Rome down to
Ostia on the northern bank of the river Tiber - the closest salt-field in Western Italy.
[Fox, pp. 111–112]
At the same time, archaeologists detect, there was an urban transformation of the area. Roman huts were being replaced by houses, and a social space, or ''
forum'', was built by .
The influence of the Etruscans played an important role, and migrants came from Etruscan towns. Soon (according to tradition) it was followed by the rule of Etruscan kings, the Tarquins (traditionally, 616-509 BC).
While Rome may have acquired considerable territory (some 350 sq. miles)
[M. Cary, H.H. Scullard pp. 54–55] in Latium, Roman kings never exercised absolute power over Latium. The Latin cities did, however, look to Rome for protection, for Rome had more manpower than any other city in Latium.
This was due, in part, to Rome's generous policy of asylum: Roman kindness was unique in its readiness to grant citizenship to outsiders, citizenship was even granted to former slaves. The children of freedmen provided an important source for Roman armies and gave Rome a definite edge in manpower over other cities of the time.
Roman Republic and after
The emperor
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
officially united all of present-day Italy into a single geo-political entity, ''
Italia'', dividing it into eleven regions. Latium – together with the present region of
Campagna immediately to the southeast of Latium and the seat of
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
– became Region I.

After the
Gothic War (535–554)
The Gothic War between the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Roman emperor, Emperor Justinian I and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy took place from 535 to 554 in the Italian peninsula, Dalmatia (theme), Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Cors ...
A.D. and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) conquest, this region regained its freedom, because the "Roman Duchy" became the property of the Eastern Emperor. However the long wars against the barbarian
Longobards weakened 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 16th century.
Innocent III
Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
tried to strengthen his own territorial power, wishing to assert his authority in the provincial administrations of Tuscia, Campagna and Marittima through the Church's representatives, in order to reduce the power of the
Colonna family. Other popes tried to do the same.
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. Small communes, and Rome above all, opposed the lords' increasing power, and with
Cola di Rienzo, they tried to present themselves as antagonists of the ecclesiastical power. However, between 1353 and 1367, the papacy regained control of Latium and the rest of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
.
From the middle of the 16th century, the papacy politically unified Latium with the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, so that these territories became provincial administrations of St. Peter's estate; governors in
Viterbo, in Marittima and
Campagna, and in
Frosinone administered them for the papacy.
After the short-lived
Roman Republic (18th century), the region's annexation to France by
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
in February 1798, Latium became again part of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
in October, 1799.
On 20 September 1870, the
capture of Rome
The Capture of Rome () occurred on 20 September 1870, as forces of the Kingdom of Italy took control of the city and of the Papal States. After a plebiscite held on 2 October 1870, Rome was officially made capital of Italy on 3 February 1871, c ...
, during the reign of Pope
Pius IX, and France's defeat at
Sedan, completed
Italian unification, and Latium was incorporated into the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
.
[.]
Modern region of Latium
Latium, often referred to by the Italian name ''Lazio'', is a government region, one of the first-level administrative divisions of the state, and one of twenty regions in Italy. Originally meant as administrative districts of the central state, the regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a constitutional reform in 2001. The modern region of Latium contains the national capital Rome.
See also
*
Latium adiectum
*
Latin Valley
*
Fidenae
*
Etruria
*
Ladina
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
–
Geographica (Strabo)
The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek in the late 1st century BC, or ...
book V chapter 3 – Rome 20 BC
*
Athanasius Kircher – ''
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...
'' – 1669 – Amsterdam 1671
* G. R. Volpi – ''Vetus Latium Profanum et Sacrum'' – Rome 1742
* T. J. Cornell – ''The beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars'' – London 1995
* C. J. Smith – ''Early Rome and Latium. Economy and Society, c. 1000 – 500 BC,'' "''Oxford Classical Monographs''" – Oxford 1996
*
Theodor Mommsen,
The History of Rome Volume I'. 1894.
* Fox, Robin Lane, ''The Classical World: An Epic History From Homer to Hadrian''. Basic Books, 2006.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Geography of Lazio
History of Lazio
Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy
Metropolitan City of Rome Capital
Historical regions
Roman Italy