Lazio is a region that lies half way down Italy's west coast.

It is home to Italy's capital Rome, which dominates the region as it has so much to offer the tourist in terms of history and architecture, from the Colosseum and Panethon of ancient Rome, the medieval Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, the Renaissance and Baroque architecture of Piazza del Campidoglio and the Fontana di Trevi through to the neoclassical Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II. As a tourist you can spend weeks in Rome without seeing all it has to offer.

Outside Rome the region is less well known. To the north is the province of Viterbo where you will find an vast area known as the Maremma stretching northward into Tuscany. This is a relatively undiscovered area where local traditions thrive. The coastal area, once a swampy marshland, has been drained and now offers a selection of uncrowded sandy bays ringed by forests of pine trees. Inland and to the north east the coastal plain gives way to gentle rolling hills topped with small medieval towns and villages.

To the south of Rome lie the Alban Hills, a volcanic region, popular with Romans as an escape from the city and known by them as Castelli Romani after the castles around which each of the region's small towns has been built. This is a wine growing region and home to towns such as Frascati and Marino. It also hosts the Pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

There is a whole variety of places to stay in Lazio, available to hire direct from their owners or through small agencies. Luxury apartments and penthouses with views of the city are, of course, ideal for a city break in Rome, but the surrounding countryside offers a whole range of more rural options, with stone farmhouses set amongst the area's picturesque vineyards, rustic agriturismo apartments and cottages, country houses and, naturally, villas with pools for family holidays. Bed and breakfast rooms and guesthouses make a great alternative for short stays and stopovers.