Information on Italy
Territory: 
The region, with undulated hills, stretches from the western buttresses of the
Apennines to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The landscape is varied, presenting flatlands
on the coastline and in the hinterland, ridges and calcareous highlands. Latium
has four very ancient volcanic distincts, where the craters of extinct volcanoes
form the lakes of Bolsena, Vico, Bracciano, Albano and Nemi.
Cities:
Rome is the capital of Italy, as well of the region. Other important cities are Vatican City, Frosinone, Latina, Viterbo and Rieti.
Art:
Latium is the cradle of Roman civilization and is incredibly rich in
outstanding relics of the different periods. The traces of the Etruscan civilization
are remarkable and can be found at Veio, Vulci, Tarquinia and Cerveteri. The
region has always been the center of an intensive artistic life, which, from the
Middle Ages to the eighteenth century, has been intertwined with the presence of
the Church (the Vatican City, seat of the papacy, is in the heart of Rome).
Museums:
In Rome, the National Museum houses the most important archaeologic
collections in the world, while the Capitoline Museum holds the oldest classic
sculptures and the Museum of the Palazzo dei Conservatori comprises Greek and Roman sculptures.
Etruscan vases, and paleo-christian sarcophagi can also be admired. The Pinacoteca Capitolina
houses remarkables pictorial works. In the Museum of Rome there are civic
documents, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Tourists should not omit a visit
to the Barracco Museum, with Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Etruscan relics
amid to the National Museum of Castel Sant’Angelo. The Doria Pamphili
Gallery houses a highly valuable private pictorial collection Moreover, there are
the National Gallery of Ancient Art, the Borghese Museum and Gallery and the National
Museum of Villa Giulia. The imposing complex of the Vatican Museums contains
numberless outstanding masterpieces.
To Be Visited:
In the center of Rome, we can admire the Roman Forum, the imposing amid
the universally known Colosseum and the Cathedral of St. Peter. Visitors can admire the
archaeologic excavations, visit the quaint quarter of Trastevere, or go to Tivoli to
see Villa Adriana.