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Impressions of Lazio, Italy

So close to the city of Rome, and yet, a lot of what we encounter in this part of Italy is not at all about Rome and the Romans, but about another culture that co-existed with the Romans, a thriving force, sophisticated and prosperous : the Etruscans. Yes, they were eventually run over by the Romans, but they developed their own way for a very long time. They were not prolific writers like the Greeks and the Romans, so there is still much that we do not know about them. But the archaeology of Lazio fills in many vacuums, and that helps us a great deal to somehow lift the veil on Etruria. No worry, there is not only that : Lazio also hides some quaint little 'borghi', robust and sturdy, picturesque and attractive with the typical flair of the Italian province : Sutri, Bolsena, Bagnoregio, embedded in a landscape of volcanic lakes or erosion ridden badlands. There are also the larger cities like Viterbo and Gaeta, with identities that spontaneously combine their omnipresent historic background with a contemporary elegance one only meets in Italy. And yes, of course, Rome is near, so there are indeed also the vestiges of ancient Roman civilisation and inevitably the story of Popes will be with us too. There is no way of talking or writing about Lazio without a reference every now and then to Papal business. For, did you realise that until late in the 19th century the entire area we are about to visit, was part of states with no king, no president and no parliament, but just the worldly leadership of a pope and some minor princes to whom he graciously delegated governance?

Before visiting the place of your choice:

Ever since the Romans conquered the originally Sabine city of Tibur in 398 BC, this area of rolling hills of the lower Appenine range has been a summer escape for wealthy Roman citizens, fleeing their crowded and hot city. This was exactly what Emperor Hadrianus also had in mind around 120 AD, when he personally designed a new summer residence for himself and his imperial family. With a surface of some 80 hectares of buildings, pools, theatres, baths etc, Hadrianus actually created a whole imperial town complex, rather than just a palace. Take for instance the Pecile, designed and named after the Stoa Poikile in Hadrianus’s beloved Athens, a long brick wall shielding a massive rectangular pool of 232 by 97 metres. The pool was originally surrounded by various lines of columns, supporting a roof.

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