Lazio

The cooking of Lazio is usually defined in terms of its capital city, Rome. Emulating their forefathers, the Romans of today - at all levels of society - enjoy good food. Vegetables grow prolifically in the region’s volcanic soil, notably the famous Roman artichokes. Dishes alla romana are light and flavourful - gnocchi, stracciatella and saltimbocca, for instance, and Lazio’s pasta sauces, such as carbonara and amatriciana, are well known.

Lazio, in the middle of the west coast, is a huge area, bordered to the north by Tuscany and to the south by Campania. Rome, the ‘Eternal City’, dominates the region and three-quarters of Lazio’s population is based here. The name of the region is usually followed by ‘SPQR’, or Senatus Populusque Romanus (the senate and people of Rome), and this says it all! Rome today, now the capital of the whole country (but only since 1861), is still as much the centre of the region in terms of power, culture and cooking as it was some 2,000 years ago. The remainder of the region serves as a ‘larder’ for Rome, supplying the raw ingredients for the hungry and demanding city.