Albani People - Religious Customs

Religious Customs

However, Pliny and others generally agree that the communities of Latium gathered at Alba Longa for sacrificial rites. Every year in the spring, the tribes would congregate on Mons Albanus (Monte Cavo) to worship Iuppiter Latiaris. The festival was known as Feriae Latinae. The major custom in this ceremony was a great banquet, which required all attending cities to bring food, especially meat. These offerings were then divided among the attendants and owning some of the food signified membership within the league. Pliny lists 30 tribes participating in the Feriae Latinae. This festival continued as an annual event through the imperial age of Rome. There is also evidence that leaders from the surrounding tribes of Latium met at a spring in Alba Longa known as Aqua Ferentia. This supports the theory that the Albani were a central figure in Latium. Alba Longa was also known for its wine and good stone quarries.