Alban hills history
Origin and geology
From Neanderthal man to the city of Latin people:
The work of archeologists has confirmed that Alba Longa really existed, and that the civilization of the Latin peoples was of a noteworthy level. The fertile hills of this area have been populated by man ever since Prehistoric times. Neanderthal man settled here permanently between the modern centres of Castel Gandolfo and Albano, living off hunting wild boar, deer and Elephas antiqus(the straight-tusked elephant). However, we can speak of a real civilization from the VI millennium B.C., when the first Neolithic farmers settled in the area of what are nowadays called Albano, Grottaferrata and Montecòmpatri. The civilization of the Latin people emerges from the IX century B.C., and is divided into three ages: Albana, Romulea and Orientalizing, according to historians. This population accomplished elegant works of art, having contact with Greeks, Etruscans and other peoples of the Mediterranean. Their sanctuaries: Juno Sospita in Lanuvio, Jupiter of Lazio on Monte Cavo, Diana of Nemi near the lake of the same name, all of whom passed on their sacredness to the Roman