ALBA'NO, a t. of Italy, about 18 m. from Rome, on the declivity of the lava-walls which encompass the lake Albano. It is the seat of a bishop, numbers 5000 inhabitants, and is surrounded with handsome mansions of the wealthier Romans. It is on the oppo site side of the lake from where Alba Longa stood, and owed its origin to the villas of ancient Roman magnates, such as Pompeius, Domitian, and Clodius. A valuable wine is produced in the environs. Near the town, on the old Appian way, are found the remains of an amphitheatre, and a sepulchre of Etruscan architecture.
Tf IE ALBAN LAKE, or lago di Castello, is formed in the basin of an extinct volcano, aud has a circumference of 6 m., with the enormous depth of more than 1000 ft. Its elevation is nearly 1000 ft. above the sea-level. While the Romans were at war with the Veientes (390 n.c.), this lake rose to an extraordinary height in the heat of summer, and without any apparent cause. Etruscan diviners declared that the conquest of Veil depended upon letting off the waters of the lake. Stimulated by this, the Romans, under the direc
tion of the Etruscans, opened an emissary or tunnel through the lava-wall which bounds it. In the execution of this work they acquired the art of mining, which they now applied to undermine the walls of Veil. The tunnel, which still remains, and still fulfills its ancient office, is 1f ni. in length, with a height of 7 ft. and a width of 4 ft. On . the eastern bank of the lake, rises monte Cavo, the ancient Mt. Albanus, 3000 ft. high, affording an extensive and magnificent view from its summit. Upon it once stood the magnificent temple of Jupiter Latialis, which was approached by a paved way, for the ascent of the solemn processions of the Latin confederation (Fence Latina), and for the ovations of Roman generals. The road remains, in great part, perfect to this day.
The Albano stone, called Peperino, was much used in Roman buildings. It is a kind of volcanic tufa, of an ash-color, and is still quarried extensively at A.