The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

remains of a quiescent

volcanic complex A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano or a volcanic complex, is a mixed landform consisting of related volcanic centers and their associated lava flows and pyroclastic rock. They may form due to changes in eruptive habit or in t ...

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 ...

, located southeast of

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 ...

and about north of

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Isl ...

. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, but the highest point is Maschio delle Faete approximately to the east of Cavo and taller. There are subsidiary

s along the rim of the Alban Hills that contain the

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s Albano and Nemi. The hills are composed of peperino (lapis albanus), a variety of tuff that is useful for construction and provides a mineral-rich substrate for nearby

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

History

The hills, especially around the shores of the lakes, have been popular since prehistoric times. From the 9th to 7th century BC, there were numerous villages (see the legendary Alba Longa and

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

). The area was inhabited by the Latini during the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. The ancient Romans called the hill Albanus Mons. On the summit was the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

Latiaris, in which the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

s celebrated the '' Feriae Latinae'', and several generals celebrated victories here during times when they were not accorded regular triumphs in Rome. The foundations and some of the architectural fragments of the temple were still in existence until 1777, when they were used to build the Passionist monastery by Cardinal York, but the ''Via Triumphalis'' leading up to it can still be seen. In Roman times, the area was often used by the rich as a way to escape the heat and crowds of Rome, as it is today as shown by the many villas and country houses present.

Towns and cities

The towns and villages in the Alban Hills are known as the Castelli Romani.

Volcanic activity

Examination of deposits have dated the four most recent eruptions to two temporal peaks, around 36,000 and 39,000 years ago. The area exhibits small localised

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

swarms, bradyseism, and release of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

and hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere. The uplift and earthquake swarms have been interpreted as caused by a slowly growing spherical magma chamber 5-6 kilometres below the surface; some think that it may erupt again; if so, there is risk to

, which is only 25 to 30 km away. There is documentary evidence which may describe an eruption in 114 BC, but the absence of

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

geological deposits has largely discredited it as a volcanic event and instead the account is considered to be a description of a forest fire. The volcano emits large amounts of

which can potentially reach lethal concentrations if it accumulates in depressions in the ground in the absence of wind. The

asphyxiation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

of 29 cows in September 1999 prompted a detailed survey, which found that concentration of the gas at 1.5 m above the ground in a residential area on the northwestern flank sometimes exceeded the occupational health threshold of 0.5%. Eight sheep were killed in a similar incident in October 2001. ''citing''

People

Writers and artists who have produced work about this area include: * Thomas Ashby, archaeologist, wrote ''The Roman Campagna in Classic Time'' * William Brockedon painter and illustrator of guide-books *

George Gordon Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

in '' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' * Charles Coleman painter *

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

in '' Italian Journey'' * Louis Gurlitt, German painter *

Jacob Philipp Hackert Jacob Philipp Hackert (15 September 1737 – 28 April 1807) was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy. Biography Hackert was born in 1737 in Prenzlau in the Margraviate of Brandenburg (now in Germany). He t ...

, German painter *

Gavin Hamilton, artist and antiquarian Gavin Hamilton (1723, Lanarkshire – 4 January 1798, Rome) was a Scottish neoclassical history painter, who is more widely remembered for his searches for antiquities in the neighbourhood of Rome. These roles in combination made him an arbit ...

, painter and archaeologist, in Genzano and Lanuvio (18th century) * James Duffield Harding in ''Tourist in Italy'' * John Henry Henshall watercolor painter * Richard Colt Hoare in ''A classical tour through Italy and Sicily'' * Ellis Cornelia Knight, writer and painter in ''Description of Latium'' or ''La Campagna di Roma'' * Edward Lear painter and lithographer * William Leighton Leitch watercolor painter in Lanuvio * Charles H. Poingdestre painter * John Singer Sargent, painter in Villa Torlonia - Frascati * Stendhal, writer, in Albano Laziale, ''Chroniques italiennes (1836–1839): L'Abbesse de Castro'' *

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...

, RA, British painter * Georgina E. Troutbeck, ''Rambles in Rome'' - London - ed. Mills & Boon - 1914 *

Richard Voss Richard Voss (2 September 1851 – 10 June 1918) was a German dramatist and novelist. In standard German orthography, his name is printed as Voß. Biography Voss was born at Neu-Grape near Pyritz, in Pomerania, the son of a country squire. T ...

, German dramatist and novelist * Clara Louisa Wells in ''The Alban Hills'' ed. 1878

Panorama

References

External links

{{Authority control Ancient Roman temples Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Castelli Romani Mountains of Lazio Volcanoes of Italy Alba Longa Latial culture