Latium

Latium is the historic region of central western Italy that surrounds the Tiber River and extends along the Tyrrhenian coast. Its core lies between Etruria to the north and Campania to the south, with inland reach toward the central Apennines. The region was the homeland of the Latins, an Italic people who founded many towns and, most famously, Rome.

In the early Iron Age Latium was organized as a network of city-states and leagues, most notably the Latin League formed for mutual defense. Rome emerged as a prominent city within Latium and, according to tradition, was founded in 753 BCE. Over time it expanded its authority from a local power to a dominant regional center, and by the 3rd century BCE controlled much of Latium. After the Social War and related events, Latins were more fully integrated into the Roman state.

Under the early empire, Latium was administratively organized as Latium et Campania, a combined province that included both Latium and Campania; Rome remained the political and cultural heart of the region. The term Latium continued to appear in classical geography and literature and remained a reference point for the heartland of Roman civilization.

Today, the area largely corresponds to the modern Italian region of Lazio, from which the ancient name Latium is derived. The city of Rome sits at the core of this historic region. The legacy of Latium includes the Latin language and many cultural and institutional foundations that shaped Roman and, more broadly, Western history.