Alba Longa

Alba Longa, mod. Albano, a very ancient city of Latium, situated 15 miles S.E. of Rome, near the Alban lake and mountain. The Vergilian legend makes Ascanius the founder, and associates the name with the discovery of a white sow; the root of the word, however, is alb, "white." Fourteen mythical kings were said to have reigned here. Tullus Hostilius destroyed the city, and removed its inhabitants to Rome, where, according to tradition, they founded several patrician families.