schools, barracks, hospitals, a councihhall, a bull-ring and
other modern buildings, mostly erected after the city became
a provincial capital in 1833. It is surrounded by a fertile
plain, and has considerable trade in saffron and agricultural
produce. A great market, chiefly for the sale of cattle,
is held annually in September, and extends over several
days. The manufacture of matches is aided by the existence
of sulphur workings in the vicinity; and Albacete formerly
had an extensive trade in cutlery, from which it was named
the Sheffield of Spain. Despite the importation of cutlery
from England and Germany, Albacete is still famous for its
daggers, which arc held in high repute by Spaniards. They
are formidable weapons, of coarse manufacture, but with
richly ornamented handles; and they frequently bear proverbial
inscriptions suitable to their murderous appearance.
ALBA FUCENS (mod. Albe), an ancient Italian town occupying
a lofty situation (3347 ft.) at the foot of the Monte Velino, 4
m. N. Of Avezzano. It was originally a town of the Aequi,
though on the frontier of the Marsi, but was occupied by a
loied by a
Roman colony (304 B.C.I owing to its strategic importance.
It lay on a hill just to the north of the Via Valeria,
which was probably prolonged beyond Tibur at this very
period. In the Second Punic war Alba at first remained
faithful, but afterwards refused to send contingents and was
punished. After this it became a regular place of detention for
important state prisoners, such as Syphax of Numidia, Perseus of
Macedonia, Bituitus, king of the Arverni. It was attacked by
the allies in the Social War, but remained faithful to Rome;
and its strong position rendered it a place of some importance
in the civil wars. Its prosperity, in the imperial period,
can only be inferred from the number of inscriptions found
there. It is chiefly remarkable for its finely preserved
fortifications. The external walls, which have a circuit of
about 2 m., are constructed of polygonal masonry; the blocks
are carefully jointed, and the faces smoothed. With our present
knowledge of such constructions, their date cannot certainly be
determined. They are not preserved to any very considerable
height; but the arrangement of the gates is clearly traceable;
as a rule they come at the end of a long, straight stretch of
wall, and are placed so as to leave the right side of any
attacking force exposed. On the north there is, for a length
of about 150 yds. a triple line of defences of later date
(possibly added by the Roman colonists), inasmuch as both the
city wall proper and the double wall thrown out in front of
it are partly constructed of concrete, and faced with finer
polygonal masonry (in which horizontal joints seem to be purposely
avoided). A mile to the north of the city a huge mound with a
ditch on each side of it (but at a considerable distance from
it) may be traced for a couple of miles. Within the walls
there are hardly any buildings of a later date. Excavations
have only been made casually, though remains of buildings
and of roads can be traced, and also an extensive system of
underground passages perhaps connected with the defences of the
place. The hill at the western extremity was occupied by a
temple of the Tuscan order, into which was built the church of
S. Pietro; this contains ancient columns, and some remarkably
fine specimens of Cosmatesque work. It is the only monastic
church in the Abruzzi in which the nave is separated from
the aisles by ancient columns. The collegiate church of S.
Nicola in the village contains a remarkable staurotheca
of the 11th (?) century, and a wooden triptych in imitation
of the Byzantine style with enamels of the 13th century.
A very good description of the site, with plans, is given by C.
Promis, L'Antichita di Alba Fucense (Rome, 1836). (T. As.)
ALBA LONGA, an ancient city of Latium, situated on the
western edge of the Albanus Lacus, about 12 m. S.E. of
Rome. It was, according to tradition, founded by Ascanius,
and was the oldest of all Latin cities---the mother indeed
of Rome, by which, however, it was destroyed, it is said
under Tullus Hostilius. By this act Rome succeeded to the
hegemony of the Latin league. It has by many topographers
been placed between the Albanus Mons and the Albanus Lacus,
according to the indication given by. Dionysius (i. 66),
at the monastery of Palazzolo; but the position is quite
unsuitable for an ancient city, and does not at all answer to
Livy's description, ab situ porrectae in dorso urbis Alba
longa appellata; and it is much more probable that its site
is to be sought on the western side of the lake, where the
modern Castel Gandolfo stands, immediately to the north of
which the most important part of the archaic necropolis was
situated. Confirmation of this may be found in Cicero's
description (Pro Milone, 85) of the destruction of the
shrines and sacred groves of Alba by the construction of
Clodius's villa, in the local application of the adjective
Albanus, and in the position of Castel Gandolfo itself,
which exactly suits Livy's description. No traces of the
ancient city, except of its necropolis, the tombs of which
are overlaid with a stratum of peperino 3 ft. thick, are
preserved. The view that the modern Albano occupies the
site of Alba Longa was commonly held in the 15th and 16th
centuries, but was disproved by P. Cluver (1624). But it
is certain that no city took the place of Alba Longa until
comparatively late times. The name Albanum, from about 150
B.C. till the time of Constantine, meant a villa in the Alban
territory. The emperors formed a sinrle estate out of a
considerable part of this district, including apparently the
whole of the lake, and Domitian was especially fond of residing
here. The imperial villa occupied the site of the present
Villa Barberini at Castel Gandolfo, and considerable remains
of it still exist. To the south was a camp for the imperial
bodyguard, with baths, an amphitheatre, a large water reservoir,
&c. The first legion known to have been quartered there is
the II. Parlhica, founded by Septimius Severus; but it
was probably constructed earlier. In some of the tombs of
these legionaries coins of Maxentius have been found, while
the Liber Pontifealis records that Constantine gave to the
church of Albano ``omnia scheneca deserta vel domos intra
urbem Albanensem,', which has generally been taken to refer
to the abandoned camp. It was at this period, then, that
the civitas Albanensis arose. The lapis Albanus is a green
grey volcanic stone with black and white grains in it (hence
the modern name. Deperino). much used for building material.
See T. Ashby in Journal ofphilology, xxvii., 1901, 37. (T.
As.) ALBAN, SAINT, usually styled the protomartyr of Britain,
is said to have been born at Verulamium (the modern St Albans
in Hertfordshire) towards the close of the 3rd century, and to
have served for seven years in Rome in the army of the emperor
Diocletian. On his return to Britain he settled at his
native place and was put to death as a Christian during the
persecution of Diocletian (c. 286--303). According to
tradition, when peace was restored, great honours were paid
to his tomb. A church was built on the spot, c. 793, by
King Offa of Mercia. A monastery was subsequently added,
and around it the present town of St Albans gradually grew
up. Pope Adrian IV., who was born in the neighbourhood,
conferred on the abbot of St Alban's the right of precedence
over his fellow abbots, a right hitherto attached to the
abbey of Glastonbury. St Alban is commemorated in the
Roman martyrology on the 22nd of June; but it is impossible
to determine with certainty whether he ever existed, as no
mention of him occurs till the middle of the 6th century.
See U. Chevalier, Repertoire des sources historiques (1905), i.
95; D. Hardy, Descriptive Catalogue (1862), I. i. 3-34, ii. 688.
ALBANI, or ALBANO, FRANCESCO (1578-1660), Italian
painter, was born at Bologna. His father was a silk merchant,
and intended to bring up his son to the same occupation;
but Albani was already, at the age of twelve, filled with so
strong an inclination for painting, that on the death of his
father he devoted himself entirely to art. His first master
was Denis Calvert, with whom Guido Reni was at the same time a
pupil. He was soon left by Calvert entirely to the care
of Guido, and contracted with him a close friendship. He
followed Guido to the school of the Caracci; but after this,
owing to mutual rivalry, their friendship began gradually to
cool. They kept up for a long time a keen competition,
and their mutual emulation called forth some of their best
productions. Notwithstanding this rivalry, they still spoke
of each other with the highest esteem. Albani after having
greatly improved himself in the school of the Caracci, went
to Rome, where he opened an academy and resided for many
years. Here he painted, after the designs of Annibal
Caracci, the whole of the frescoes in the chapel of San
Diego in the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnuoli.
His best frescoes are those on mythological subjects, of
which there is a large number in the Verospi, now Torlonia
Palace. On the death of his wife he returned to Bologna,
where he married a second time and resided till his death.
His wife and children were very beautiful and served him for
models. The learning displayed in the composition of his
pictures, and their minute elaboration and exquisite finish,
gave them great celebrity and entitle them to a distinctive
place among the products of the Bolognese school. A number
of his works are at Bologna, and others at Florence, the
Louvre, Dresden and St Petersburg. Among the best of his
sacred subjects are a ``St Sebastian'' and an ``Assumption
of the Virgin,'' both in the church of St Sebastian at
Rome. He was among the first of the Italian painters to
devote himself to the painting of cabinet pictures. A
rare etching, the ``Death of Uido,'' is attributed to him.
ALBANI, the stage name of MARIE, LOUISE EMMA CECILE
LAJEUNESSE (1847- ), Canadian singer, who was born at
Chambly, in the province of Quebec, on the 27th of September
1847. She made her first public appearance in Montreal,
at the age of seven, and afterwards studied in the United
States, Paris and Italy. In 1870 she made her first
appearanceatmessina, and after two successful seasons appeared
in London in 1872 with the Royal Italian Opera. Later she
abandoned opera for oratorio. and sang at all the principal
festivals. She has made several tours of Canada and of
the United States, and in 1886 sang at the opening of the
Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London the ode written
by Tennyson for the occasion. She frequently sang before
Queen Victoria, the German emperor and others of the crowned
heads of Europe, and received numerous marks of their
esteem. In 1897 she was awarded the gold Beethoven medal by
the London Philharmonic Society, ``as a mark of appreciation
of her exceptional genius and musical attainments, and of
her generous and artistic nature.'' She marriedin 1878 Ernest
Gye, the theatrical manager. Her stage name of Madame
Albani was taken from that of an extinct Italian family.
See Morgan, Canadian Men and Women of the Time (1898).
ALBANIA, the ancient name of a district in the eastern
Caucasus, consisting, according to Strabo (xi. 4. 1-8), of the
valley of the Cyrus (Kur) and the land lying between it and the
Caucasus range from Iberia to the Caspian Sea, i. e. the modern
