Lake Albano, Volcanic crater lake in Alban Hills, Italy

Lake Albano is a volcanic crater lake situated in the Alban Hills between Albano Laziale and Castel Gandolfo. The water body is surrounded by forested slopes and supports various recreational activities along its shores.

Around 395 BC, during the war between Rome and Veii, a discharge tunnel was cut through the crater walls to control the lake's flooding. It is said to have been built by 30,000 men; the tunnel runs 1,350 m long, 1.20 m wide and 2 m high, with five vertical access shafts. According to Livy, the Oracle of Delphi advised the Romans to channel the lake waters to win the war.

In Roman myth, when the lake rose without rain during the siege of Veii, a haruspex foretold that Veii would fall only if the water were scattered inland. Livy credits the Oracle of Delphi with prompting the tunnel that carried the water to irrigation. The lake hosted the canoeing and rowing events of the 1960 Rome Olympics, and the lane-marking system devised for them is still called the Albano buoy system.

The lake is reachable from several points along the shore, with walking paths and rest areas available throughout. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water, as exploring the shoreline involves walking over uneven terrain.

The lake's elongated oval shape, with its long axis running northwest to southeast, comes from at least five separate explosions that formed the crater, unlike the circular craters of Bolsena or Bracciano. Its steep southern slopes mark where the explosion met the lava flow of the larger Faete edifice.