Castra Albana

Castra Albana
The central arch of the porta Praetoria of the castra
Founded during the reign ofSeptimius Severus
Place in the Roman world
ProvinceItalia
Structure
— stone structure —
Size and area437 m × 239 m (9.5 ha)
Stationed military units
Legions
Legio II Parthica
Location
TownAlbano Laziale
CountyRoma
StateLazio
CountryItaly

The Castra Albana [ˈkastra alˈbaːna] was an ancient Roman legionary fortress of the Legio II Parthica founded by the Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211) on the site of the present Albano Laziale.

It was the only permanent legionary fortress in Italy and had the role of protecting the emperor, while all other legions were distributed through the provinces for defence of the empire. It was located near to the imperial villa at the present Castel Gandolfo, and only about 20 km from Rome.

Today the remains of building both inside the castra and in the neighbouring civilian settlement, such as the so-called Baths of Caracalla and the Amphitheatre, can still be seen.