Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small
volcanic crater lake
A volcanic crater lake is a lake in a crater that was formed by explosive activity or a collapse during a volcanic eruption.
Formation
Lakes in calderas fill large craters formed by the collapse of a volcano during an eruption. Lakes in maars ...
in 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 ...
of
Lazio
it, Laziale
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, at the foot of
Monte Cavo
Monte Cavo, or less occasionally, "Monte Albano," is the second highest mountain of the complex of the Alban Hills, near Rome, Italy. An old volcano extinguished around 10,000 years ago, it lies about from the sea, in the territory of the ''co ...
, 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 ...
.
Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the
Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
It hosted the
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
and
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
events of the
1960 Summer Olympic Games that were held in Rome. The lane marking system developed for these events is commonly referred to as the
Albano buoy system
The Albano lane system is a method of marking kayak, canoe and rowing racecourses using lines of buoys. It was first used internationally in the 1960 Summer Olympics held on Lake Albano, Italy. It has since become an international standard for most ...
.
History and geology
In
Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, it was known as Albanus Lacus and lay not far from the ancient city of
Alba Longa
Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was d ...
.
With a depth of about , Lake Albano is the deepest in Lazio. The lake is long by wide, and was formed by the overlapping union of two volcanic craters, an origin indicated by the ridge in its center, which rises to a height of . Plutarch reports that in 406BC the lake surged over the surrounding hills, despite there being no rain nor tributaries flowing into the lake to account for the rise in water level. The ensuing flood destroyed fields and vineyards before eventually pouring into the sea.
It is thought to have been caused by volcanic gases, trapped in sediment at the bottom of the lake and gradually building up until suddenly releasing, causing the water to overflow.
Drainage tunnel
Around 395BC, during the wars between Rome and
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
, a discharge tunnel was built crossing the crater walls.
It served as an
emissary
Emissary may refer to:
* Ambassador
* Apostle (disambiguation)
* Diplomat
* ''Emissaries'' (album), a 2006 album by black metal group Melechesh
* Emissary (hydraulics), channel by which an outlet is formed to carry off any stagnant body of wate ...
whenever the water level overflowed its mouth.
According to
Titus Livius
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, this feat of engineering was incited by the
Oracle of Delphi
Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...
: the Roman
victory against Veii would be possible only when the lake waters were channeled and used for irrigation.
The emissary is at 293 meters over the sea level. The tunnel (1200 m long, 1,20 m wide and 2 m high) ends at a spot called Le Mole, below Castel Gandolfo, where the water flow drove multiple
watermills
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
.
Lake Albanus in Roman Myth
During the war with
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
in 393 BC, the level of Lake Albano rose to an unusual height even in the absence of rain. This prodigy was believed to be relevant on the siege of
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
because a
haruspex
In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails ('' exta''—hence also extispicy ...
from Veii recited some lines of a prophecy that illustrated the relationship between the level of its waters and either the safety or the fall of the town to the Romans. It foretold that as long as the waters of the lake remain high Veii would be impregnable to the Romans. If the waters of the lake were scattered in an inland direction on the other hand Veii would fall; but if they were to overflow through the usual streams or channels toward the sea this fact would be unfavourable to the Romans as well.
Dumézil ascribed this story to the Roman custom of projecting religious legendary heritage onto history, considering it as a festival myth, aimed at giving relevance to an exceptional event which would have happened during the Neptunalia. This legend would show the scope of the powers hidden in waters and the religious importance of their control by man: Veientans too knowing the fact had been digging channels for a long time as recent archaeological finds confirm. There is a temporal coincidence between the conjuration of the prodigy and the works of derivation recommended by Palladius and Columella at the time of the ''canicula'', when the waters are at their lowest.
[G. Dumezil ''Mythe et epopee'' III ''Histoires romaines'' Paris 1973 p. 21 as cited by Bloch p. 346.]
Image:Schedrin Albano.jpg, Painting by Sylvester Shchedrin, before 1825
File:George Inness - Lake Albano - Google Art Project.jpg, Lake Albano, George Inness
George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent American landscape painter.
Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the s ...
, 1869
Image:Lago albano castelgandolfo roma italy.JPG, Panoramic view
Castel Gandolfo.jpg, View of the lake showing Castel Gandolfo
References
Bibliography
Britannica.com(retrieved: 12 March 2009)
(retrieved: 12 March 2009)
*The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition , Date: 2008 , The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Columbia University Press (retrieved: 12 March 2009)
{{Coord, 41, 45, 0, N, 12, 39, 54, E, type:waterbody_region:IT, display=title
Castelli Romani
Venues of the 1960 Summer Olympics
Olympic canoeing venues
Olympic rowing venues
Albano, Lake of
Albano, Lake
Albano, Lake
Alba Longa