The Province of Latina ( it, Provincia di Latina) is an area of local government at the level of
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
in the Republic of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is one of five provinces that form the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
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. The provincial capital is the city of
Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
. It is bordered by the provinces of
Frosinone
Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...
to the north-east and by the
Metropolitan City of Rome Capital
Metropolitan City of Rome Capital ( it, Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale) is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Lazio region of the Republic of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Rome and 120 ...
to the north-west.
It has an area of and a population of 561,189 (2012). There are 33 ''
comuni
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' (singular: ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'') in the province
Sub-divisions of the province
The most populous ''comuni'' are:
History
The province of Latina was founded on 18 December 1934, encompassing mainly the drained areas of the
Agro Pontino
250px, Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain
The Pontine Marshes (, also ; it, Agro Pontino , formerly also ''Paludi Pontine''; la, Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, ''Pomptina Palus'' (singular) and ''Pomptinae Paludes'' (plur ...
previously part of the
province of Rome
The Province of Rome ( it, Provincia di Roma) was one of the five provinces that formed part of the region of Lazio in Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. T ...
. Apart from the Pontine lands, it includes the
Aurunci
The Aurunci were an Italic tribe that lived in southern Italy from around the 1st millennium BC. They were eventually defeated by Rome and subsumed into the Roman Republic during the second half of the 4th century BC.
Identity
Aurunci is the n ...
,
Lepini and
Ausoni
"Ausones" (; ), the original Greek form for the Latin "Aurunci", was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The term was used, specifically, to denote the partic ...
mountain ranges, as well as the
Pontine islands
The Pontine Islands (, also ; it, Isole Ponziane ) are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Lazio region, Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipe ...
archipelago. The port of
Gaeta and
Formia
Formia is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio, Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. It has a population of 38,095. Istat 2017
History
...
, in the southernmost part of the province, belonged traditionally and linguistically to
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
.
In
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, complex permanent settlement systems and functionally differentiated societies developed in the Pontine region. This included preparation of fish and salt at the coast and metallurgy slightly inland.
Late
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
fortified settlements evolved on the
Alban hills
The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...
and
Monti Lepini
The Monti Lepini (Italian: Lepini mountains) are a mountain range which belongs to the Anti-Apennines of the Lazio region of central Italy, between the two provinces of Latina and Rome.
The range borders to the north with the Colli Albani, to t ...
. Small-scale farming and urbanisation developed only in or right before the Roman Age with
transhumant pastoralism still continuing. From 350 BC onwards, the colonies of Cora (
Cori
Cori or CORI may refer to:
* Cori cycle, the metabolic pathway where lactic acid produced in the muscles is converted into glucose in the liver
* Cori (lunar crater)
* Cori, a crater on Venus
* Cori (name)
* ''Cori, de Scheepsjongen'' (''Cori, the ...
),
Norba
Norba, an ancient town of Latium (''Adjectum''), Italy. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, on the western edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid v ...
and Setia (
Sezze) were built. The small peasant economy was gradually replaced by large specialised
latifundia
A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious" and ''fundus'', "farm, estate") is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, o ...
.
Geography
Although the smallest of the provinces in the Lazio region, the province of Latina includes a variety of geographical and historical areas.
Hill and mountain areas
The mainland area is, in the south- and north-eastern part, mostly occupied by
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
hills and mountains. Ranges include the
Lepini,
Aurunci
The Aurunci were an Italic tribe that lived in southern Italy from around the 1st millennium BC. They were eventually defeated by Rome and subsumed into the Roman Republic during the second half of the 4th century BC.
Identity
Aurunci is the n ...
,
Ausoni
"Ausones" (; ), the original Greek form for the Latin "Aurunci", was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The term was used, specifically, to denote the partic ...
. The highest elevation is that of
Monte Petrella
Monte Petrella is the highest peak in the Aurunci Mountains, in southern Lazio, central Italy. It has an elevation of .
It can be reached from Spigno Saturnia from east, and Maranola, a ''frazione'' of Formia
Formia is a city and ''comune' ...
(Aurunci). The climate is semi-continental with hot summers and cold winters; temperatures rarely fall below . The mountains are characterized by small medieval settlements (''borghi'') and traditionally live of cattle raising and agriculture; however, these activities saw a marked decline in recent times, and today workers usually commute daily to work in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
or Latina.
Tourism is an increasing interesting resource, attracted especially by the uncontaminated nature and by artistic traces of the Middle Ages (
Abbeys of Valvisciolo and
Fossanova
Fossanova Abbey, earlier Fossa Nuova, is a church that was formerly a Cistercian abbey located near the railway-station of Priverno in Latina, Italy, about south-east of Rome.
History
Fossanova is one of the finest examples of early Burgundia ...
, where
St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...
died). The main centres of this area are
Cori
Cori or CORI may refer to:
* Cori cycle, the metabolic pathway where lactic acid produced in the muscles is converted into glucose in the liver
* Cori (lunar crater)
* Cori, a crater on Venus
* Cori (name)
* ''Cori, de Scheepsjongen'' (''Cori, the ...
,
Sezze, and
Priverno Priverno is a town, ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy. It was called ''Piperno'' until 1927.
It has a station of the Rome-Naples railway mainline. Nearby is the Monti Lepini chain. It was the birthplace of the canonist Reg ...
.
Agro Pontino
The
Agro Pontino
250px, Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain
The Pontine Marshes (, also ; it, Agro Pontino , formerly also ''Paludi Pontine''; la, Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, ''Pomptina Palus'' (singular) and ''Pomptinae Paludes'' (plur ...
occupies the plain extending southwards from
Aprilia to
Terracina
Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity.
History Ancient times
Terracina appears in anci ...
, along the Tyrrhenian Sea. Until the 1930s, it was covered by unhealthy marshes, which were dried up under Fascist government; the area as subsequently settled by immigrants coming from north-eastern Italy, in newly built cities like
Sabaudia
Sabaudia is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Lazio, in central Italy. Sabaudia's centre is characterised by several examples of Fascist architecture.
Villa Volpi, a neoclassical seaside villa built for Countess Nathalie Volpi of Misurata ...
or Latina itself. The sole mountain peak is that of
Circeo
Monte Circeo or Cape Circeo ( it, Promontorio del Circeo , la, Mons Circeius) is a mountain promontory that marks the southwestern limit of the former Pontine Marshes.located on the southwest coast of Italy near San Felice Circeo. At the nor ...
promontory. The climate is mild. The Agro Pontino is the most economically developed part of the province, housing a flourishing agricultural sector and numerous service firms and industries. It also houses much of the water basins of the province, like the coast Lakes of Fogliano, Caprolace, and Paola.
Apart the capital, the main cities include
Cisterna di Latina
Cisterna di Latina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina in Lazio, of central Italy. It was the scene of the Battle of Cisterna in January 1944.
The Garden of Ninfa is located in the commune's territory.
The town, then known as ''T ...
, Terracina, Sabaudia.
Formia and Gaeta
Cities rich of ancient and medieval history, Gaeta and Formia were traditionally part of the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. They belonged to the
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
region until 1934. Traces of the different cultural milieu can be identified in the costumes and, most of all, in the local dialect, a variant of
Neapolitan
Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to:
Geography and history
* Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city
* Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
. Formia and Gaeta constitutes a single metropolitan area with an important port (with connection to the Pontine Islands), a station on the main railway line Rome-Naples. Other important centres include
Sperlonga
Sperlonga (locally ) is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Italy, about halfway between Rome and Naples. It is best known for the ancient Roman sea grotto discovered in the grounds of the Villa of Tiberius containing the important and spect ...
and
Minturno
Minturno is a city and ''comune'' in the southern Lazio, Italy, situated on the north west bank of the Garigliano (known in antiquity as the Liris), with a suburb on the opposite bank about from its mouth, at the point where the Via Appia crosse ...
.
Pontine Islands
Once mainly used as penitentiaries, the Pontine Islands are now a renowned tourist resort in summer. The only inhabited islands are
Ponza
Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in th ...
and
Ventotene
Ventotene (; locally ; la, Pandataria or , from grc, Πανδατερία, Pandatería, or ) is one of the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Gaeta right at the border between Lazio and Campania, Italy. The municipality ...
.
See also
*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gaeta#Province of Latina
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
1934 establishments in Italy