LAZIO - Geography and history
Divided administratively into five provinces (Viterbo, Rieti, Rome, Latina and Frosinone) and with an area of 17 227 km2, Lazio is split geologically into three areas which run parallel to the coast: an interior area of limestone mountains, an intermediate area marked by seismic features and a coastal area of alluvial plains. Mountains comprise 26% of the territory, with the highest peak rising to 2 455 m, while hills and plains account for 54% and 20% respectively of the territory. The climate is maritime along the coast, temperate in the hill areas and continental in the mountains.
Lazio lies almost at the centre of Italy. The Vatican City State is located within Rome itself. Since the unification of Italy the area around the city has been greatly influenced by the capital, whereas the rest of the region, comprising territories which formerly belonged to other States, has retained some of the social and cultural characteristics of these other areas.
Stable employment and potential to be exploited
One of the strengths of the region is the stability in the working population. The city of Rome (which, according to the last Census in 2001, has nearly 50% of the total population of the region) accommodates various government ministries and head offices of State-run bodies, national banks and a wide variety of other organisations. This means that a large proportion of those in employment benefit from 'job security', and even if in 2002, 10% of employees had a fixed term contract. This advantage also hides a weakness, however, since it has prevented the development of an entrepreneurial class with modern business skills. The fact is that the existence of so many people with 'safe jobs' has in turn ensured the growth of retail, craft and services activities, which also 'play safe'. While this situation has eroded the social differences which are more apparent in other regions of the country, the widespread prosperity of the region has attracted workers from outside the EU who are bringing with them the inevitable problems of immigrant labour.
The centralisation of economic activities in the capital encourages heavy daily commuting into Rome, in spite of the fact that public transport is inadequate to face the demand. The result is constant congestion on the roads, causing both air and noise pollution. The region possesses a wealth of museums and works of art which are spread throughout its territory.
Thanks to the Jubilee in the year 2000, these have been given proper publicity, in order to generate more tourism and visitors steered towards the smaller towns in the region.
Population and economic activity concentrated around Rome
The domination of Rome and the effects of certain political and economic decisions in the past have split Lazio into two distinct parts. Upper Lazio, comprising the provinces of Viterbo and Rieti (with 37% of the region's area and 8.5% of its population), has an economic structure based on family and small firms, while lower Lazio, which consists of the provinces of Latina and Frosinone (32% of the region's area and 19% of the population), is more developed industrially due to the presence of big industries.
Between the two lies the province of Rome, with a much higher population density and where industry and high-tech services coexist. The smaller provinces are still at a disadvantage because, apart from the road network (basically all roads still lead only to Rome), there are differences in the provision of other infrastructures as well.
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