Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Albano

ALBANO (al-bä′nō), a town of Italy, 18 miles S. S. E. of Rome, on the declivity of the lava-walls which encompass Lake Albano, and opposite the site of Alba Longa. There are numerous remains of ancient buildings, including an aqueduct. A valuable wine is made here. Pop. about 10,000.

The Alban Lake, or Lago di Castello, is formed in the basin of an extinct volcano, and has a circumference of 6 miles, with a depth of 530 feet. Its surface is 961 feet above the sea-level. While the Romans were at war with Veii (390 B. C.), this lake rose to an extraordinary height in the heat of summer, and diviners declared that the conquest of Veii depended upon letting off the waters of the lake. Hereupon the Romans opened a tunnel through the lava-walls which still remains and still fulfills its ancient office, is a mile in length, with a height of 7 feet, and a width of 4 feet. On the eastern bank of the lake rises Monte Cavo, the ancient Mount Albanus, 3,000 feet high.