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Lombardy – is a landlocked province in northern Italy, comprising the gorgeous Lake Como, elegant Lake Maggiore and wild Lake Garda to the north and the wide plain of the Po river valley to the south. The regional capital is Milan, Italy’s most important commercial city and an international fashion centre, just an hour from the Italian Lakes. The province is strewn with jewels of Renaissance architecture. Visit Mantua, seat of the powerful Dukes of Gonzaga, to see Mantegna’s frescoes in the Palazzo Ducale. Take in Bergamo (with its perfect Piazza Vecchia) whose Accademia Carrara has an outstanding art collection of works by Canaletto, Lotto, Bellini and Botticelli.
Lazio
Lazio (Latium)is Rome’s province, bordered by the Apennine mountains to the east and the Tyrrhenian coast to the west. The most beautiful part of the province is the dormant volcanic region of the Alban Hills, southeast of Rome (just 25 minutes by train). Rome’s moneyed classes have swopped the capital’s summer heat for the cool glades of the Alban Hills for over two millennia. Tucked away in these wooded hills are several Renaissance-era country retreats including Bernini’s Palazzo Chigi and the Villa d’Este in Tivoli with its stunning gardens. Visit the Aldobrandini villa in the heart of Frascati wine country; take in the Roman ruins of Tusculum surrounded by umbrella pines – both testify to the enduring attraction for city dwellers of this forested, lake-dotted region. Lazio also boasts the spa town of Fiuggi, ancient forests hiding Etruscan tombs and the pleasant beaches of Capalbio and San Felice Circeo. Be sure to try the regional speciality – that old favourite – spaghetti alla carbonara.
