Alba

/al"beuh/; Sp. /ahl"vah/, n.

Duke of. See Alva, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo.

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▪ Italy

      town, Piedmont regione, northwestern Italy. It lies along the Tanaro River southwest of Turin. It occupies the site of the Roman Alba Pompeia, which was probably founded by Pompeius Strabo (consul, 89 BC) when he constructed the road from Aquae Statiellae (Acqui Terme) to Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). The town became an episcopal see dependent on Milan in the 4th century. The San Lorenzo Cathedral (1486) and the civic museum, with collections of Roman and prehistoric relics, are notable. An agricultural trade centre specializing in wines and white truffles, Alba has a school of viticulture and light industry. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 30,151.

▪ county, Romania

      judeţ (county), western Romania, occupying an area of 2,410 square miles (6,242 square km). The Western Carpathians rise above the settled areas in intermontane valleys. The county is drained westward by the Mureş River and its tributaries. Neolithic artifacts have been found at Alba Iulia (the county capital) and other sites in the judeţ. A Celtic community (3rd century BC) was situated at Aiud, and remnants of Daco-Roman villages have been found at Aiud, Sebeş, and Alba Iulia. Vineyards are worked in the Mureş River valley. Corn (maize) is grown in southern areas, and wheat is cultivated in the north. Mercury, gold, silver, and other nonferrous metals are mined in the western portion of the district, and basalt is quarried. Industries located in the cities and larger towns produce machinery, chemicals, textiles, paper, and leather and wood products. Highways and railway lines parallel the district's river courses, extending through Alba Iulia, Câmpeni, and Aiud. Pop. (2007 est.) 376,086.

▪ historical kingdom, Scotland

      the kingdom formed by the union of the Picts and Scots under Kenneth I MacAlpin in 843. Their territory, ranging from modern Argyll and Bute to Caithness, across much of southern and central Scotland, was one of the few areas in the British Isles to withstand the invasions of the Vikings (Viking). The ancient link with Ireland (from which the Celtic Scots had emigrated) was broken as a cordon of Scandinavian settlements were established in the Western Isles and Ireland. With southern England also conquered by the Norsemen and Danes, Alba was left isolated. With the withdrawal of the Norsemen, England, under the English, then launched invasions against Alba but were ultimately repelled by Malcolm II at the Battle of Carham (1016/18). When Malcolm's grandson and successor Duncan I came to the throne in 1034, he united Alba with Strathclyde, Cumbria, and Lothian. Thereafter, the name Alba began to fade away; and every king, at least in retrospect, was normally styled “king of Scots.” The first extant recorded use was by Duncan II, the “Rex Scotie,” in 1094.

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