Latina () is the capital of the

province of Latina The province of Latina () is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Latina. It is bordered by the provinces of Frosinone to the northeast and by the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital to the northwest. ...

, in the

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

region, in Central Italy. As of 2024, the city has 127,486 inhabitants and is the second-largest city of the region, after the national capital

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

.It is one of the youngest cities in Italy, being founded as Littoria in 1932 under the fascist administration, when the area surrounding it which had been a swamp since antiquity was drained.

History

Although the area was first settled by the Latins, the modern city was founded by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

on 30 June 1932 as Littoria, named for the fascio littorio. The city was inaugurated on 18 December of the same year. Littoria was populated with settlers coming mainly from

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

and

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, who formed the so-called Venetian- Pontine community (today surviving only in some peripheral boroughs). The edifices and the monuments, mainly in rationalist style, were designed by famous architects and artists such as Marcello Piacentini, Angiolo Mazzoni and Duilio Cambellotti. In 1934 it became a provincial capital and, after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, renamed Latina in 1946. With the arrival of other people mostly from Lazio itself, the original Venetian-like dialect was increasingly substituted by a form of Romanesco dialect. The city coat of arms is a blue shield with a stylized drawing of the City Hall Clock Tower in the middle, standing on a field of green, and flanked by two stalks of

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

tied at the base with a red ribbon engraved with the motto ''LATINA OLIM PALUS'' ("Latina, once a swamp") in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. The shield is surmounted by a mural crown.

Economy

The city has some pharmaceutical, chemical industry and a strong service sector. Latina is also an important centre for agriculture (vegetables, flowers, sugar, fruit, cheese and derivates). The former Latina nuclear power plant has been shut down and is currently undergoing decommissioning.

Government

Frazioni

The frazioni of Latina are: Latina Lido, Latina Scalo, Borgo Bainsizza, Borgo Carso, Borgo Faiti, Borgo Grappa, Borgo Isonzo, Borgo Montello, Borgo Piave, Borgo Podgora, Borgo Sabotino, Borgo Santa Maria, Borgo San Michele, Chiesuola, and Tor Tre Ponti.

Geography

Latina is located in the Province of Latina, part of the southern section of the region of

. The city is about south of Rome The municipality borders on Aprilia, Cisterna di Latina, Nettuno, Pontinia, Sabaudia, Sermoneta and

Sezze Sezze (from the Latin "Setia") is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Latina, central Italy, about south of Rome and from the Mediterranean coast. Sezze's historical center of is on a high hill commanding the Pianura Pontina, Pontine plai ...

Climate

Latina has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Csa'') like most of southern Italy.

In popular culture

The Italian film '' My Brother Is an Only Child'' is set in Latina. The

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

original series '' Prisma'' follows the coming-of-age of a group of teenagers from Latina.

People

* Manuela Arcuri, actress *

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, stage name of Edoardo d'Erme, musician and composer * Fabrizio del Monte, racing driver * Tiziano Ferro, pop singer * Antonio Pennacchi, writer * Mattia Perin, football goalkeeper * Karin Proia, actress * Ilaria Spada, actress * Elena Santarelli, actress, model and television presenter

International relations

Twin towns / Sister cities

Latina is twinned with: * Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Andalusia, Spain * Farroupilha, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil *

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

, Wirral, Merseyside, England

Gallery

File:Sanmarcolatina.jpg, St. Mark's Cathedral File:Fontana in Piazza Prefettura.jpg, The fountain in Piazza Libertà File:Borgo Sabotino church 3.jpg, The church of Borgo Sabotino File:Torre Pontina.jpg, Torre Pontina, the tallest building in the city and the 11th tallest in Italy

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lazio Planned communities in Italy Italian fascist architecture Populated places established in 1932