# Lazio: six UNESCO sites, and two are in Tivoli

> Lazio holds six World Heritage properties in 2026. Two are in Tivoli, listed two years apart, and the Etruscan necropolises were added in 2004.

URL: https://myitalia.it/unesco/in-lazio
Last updated: 2026-09-03

Lazio holds six World Heritage properties in 2026, and two of them stand in the same small town: Villa Adriana, listed in 1999, and Villa d'Este, listed in 2001, both at Tivoli.

## The six, and when they arrived

The list for Lazio runs: the historic center of Rome with the Holy See's extraterritorial properties and San Paolo fuori le Mura, reference 91, inscribed in 1980; Villa Adriana at Tivoli, 907, in 1999; Villa d'Este at Tivoli, 1025, in 2001; the Etruscan necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, 1158, in 2004; the beech forests, 1133, in 2007; and the Via Appia Regina Viarum, 1708, in 2024.

Two of the six are shared with other regions. The beech forests reach into six more, and the Via Appia runs on into Campania, Basilicata and Puglia.

That leaves four properties that are entirely Lazio's, and three of the four lie outside the city of Rome.

## Tivoli twice, two years apart

Villa Adriana was built by the emperor Hadrian between 118 and 138 AD and covered at least 120 hectares, of which about 40 are open today. Its residential buildings, baths, nymphaea, pavilions, gardens and an underground service network are what the 1999 inscription covers.

Villa d'Este came later on the list, in 2001, as a separate property with its own reference. Two nominations, two dates, one town.

A note on the numbers: the official page gives the extent in acres, at least 296 in total and around 99 visitable, and the hectare figures here are rounded conversions of those. The UNESCO record itself could not be read for confirmation, because whc.unesco.org answers with a 403.

## Cerveteri: €13.00, closed Mondays

The Banditaccia necropolis at Cerveteri, inscribed in 2004 together with Tarquinia, opens Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 am to 7:30 pm and closes on Monday. Full entry is €13.00 and reduced €2.00, with an annual pass at €30.00 (2026).

The combined ticket with the Museo Nazionale Cerite, which opened in 1967, is valid for a month, so the tomb site and the finds do not have to be seen on the same day. A funerary street of 2 kilometers runs through the site.

The fenced sector covers about 20 hectares, with tumuli up to 40 meters across. It reads as a town: streets, blocks, house shaped chambers.

## Tarquinia: 6,000 tombs, 200 of them painted

The Monterozzi necropolis at Tarquinia holds around 6,000 tombs across 130 hectares, of which about 200 are painted, made between the seventh and the second century BC. It is the most important body of pre-Roman classical painting in the Mediterranean.

The paintings follow a color convention worth knowing before you go down the steps: red for male figures, white for female ones. The Tarquinia museum, open since 1924, holds the material.

Opening hours and ticket prices for Tarquinia were not verified, so none are given here. Cerveteri is documented above; for Tarquinia, check on the day. More in [Lazio](/regions/lazio), [Villae of Tivoli](/attractions/villae-tivoli) and [UNESCO in Italy](/themes/unesco).

## FAQ

### How many UNESCO sites are there in Lazio?

Six in 2026: historic Rome with the Holy See's extraterritorial properties, Villa Adriana in 1999, Villa d'Este in 2001, the Etruscan necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia in 2004, the beech forests in 2007 and the Via Appia in 2024.

### Why are there two separate listings in Tivoli?

Because they were nominated separately. Villa Adriana went on the list in 1999 and Villa d'Este in 2001, two years apart, under two references. They sit in the same small town and are two distinct World Heritage properties.

### How big is Villa Adriana?

It covered at least 120 hectares when Hadrian built it between 118 and 138 AD, and about 40 hectares are open to visitors today. The official page expresses this in acres, at least 296 in total and around 99 visitable, so the hectare figures are rounded conversions.

### What does the Cerveteri necropolis cost?

€13.00 full and €2.00 reduced, open Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 am to 7:30 pm and closed on Monday (2026). The combined ticket with the Museo Nazionale Cerite is valid for one month, and an annual pass costs €30.00.

### Which of the two Etruscan necropolises has the paintings?

Tarquinia. The Monterozzi necropolis holds around 6,000 tombs over 130 hectares, of which about 200 are painted, dating from the seventh to the second century BC. Cerveteri's fenced sector covers about 20 hectares of tumuli, some 40 meters across.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| In Lazio ricadono 6 siti UNESCO del Patrimonio Mondiale (2026) | [UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it/); [Ministero della Cultura - Ufficio UNESCO](https://unesco.cultura.gov.it/projects/); [Wikidata (query SPARQL su P1435=Q9259, P17=Q38, P757, P131)](https://query.wikidata.org/sparql) | medium | 2027-08-31 |
| Villa Adriana a Tivoli e' iscritta nella Lista del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO dal 1999; fu costruita dall'imperatore Adriano tra il 118 e il 138 d.C. e occupava almeno 120 ettari, di cui circa 40 sono oggi visitabili. | [Istituto Villa Adriana e Villa d'Este - Ministero della cultura](https://villae.cultura.gov.it/en/the-locations/villa-adriana/) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| La Necropoli della Banditaccia di Cerveteri, iscritta nella Lista UNESCO nel 2004 insieme a quella di Tarquinia, e' aperta da martedi' a domenica dalle 9:00 alle 19:30 ed e' chiusa il lunedi'; il biglietto intero costa 13,00 euro e il ridotto 2,00 euro, e il biglietto integrato con il museo vale un mese (2026). | [Ministero della cultura](https://cultura.gov.it/luogo/necropoli-della-banditaccia); [Direzione regionale Musei Lazio - Ministero della cultura](https://lazio.cultura.gov.it/?page_id=5707) | high | 2027-06-30 |
| La necropoli dei Monterozzi di Tarquinia conta circa 6.000 tombe su 130 ettari, di cui circa 200 dipinte tra il VII e il II secolo a.C.: e' il piu' importante insieme di pittura classica pre-romana del Mediterraneo. A Cerveteri il settore recintato della Banditaccia copre circa 20 ettari, con tumuli che arrivano a 40 metri di diametro. | [Direzione regionale Musei Lazio - Ministero della cultura](https://lazio.cultura.gov.it/?page_id=5707) | medium | 2099-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.lazio.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Orlando Paride. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Civita_(Bagnoregio)_-_Panorama.jpg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/unesco/in-lazio.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/unesco/in-lazio.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/unesco/in-lazio.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/unesco/in-lazio.md