Alba Underground (Alba Sotterranea) Tours

Alba is best known for its UNESCO-listed countryside and its precious white truffles, but this town in Piedmont has a history that dates back to ancient Rome. Explore this past by heading deep below the town center to admire Roman ruins—including a temple, forum, theater, and domus—as well as medieval tower foundations.

The Basics
Like many Italian towns, Alba is built on layers of history. Get a first-hand look at ruins from ancient Rome and the Middle Ages by joining an archaeologist-led tour through Alba Sotteranea, the network of tunnels that run beneath the town center. Highlights include intact Roman mosaics and fragments of medieval city walls and towers no longer visible above ground. To visit, purchase Alba Sotterranea tickets in advance, or join a guided tour of Alba.   

Things to Know Before You Go

• Archaeology enthusiasts will particularly enjoy discovering Alba’s surprising Roman history hidden beneath the town.
• Many of the underground tunnels and sites are not interconnected, so the tours get from spot to spot on ground level by walking through Alba’s picturesque historic center.
• The tour ends at the Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences and includes free time to explore the 20 rooms of prehistoric and ancient artifacts.
• The underground tunnels and ruins are not accessible by wheelchair users.
• Visitors joining regularly scheduled tours are provided with translated versions of the Italian commentary; groups can also book private tours with an English-speaking guide.

How to Get There
Alba Sotterranea tours depart from just outside the tourist information office on Piazza Risorgimento (known locally as Piazza del Duomo).

When to Get There
Scheduled tours of Alba Sotterranea are held each second and fourth Sunday of the month, as well as each third Saturday morning of the month. There are additional tours on local and national holidays throughout the year. Private tours can be booked by contacting the Alba Sotterranea office.

Civic Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences “Federico Eusebio”
Alba Sotterranea tours include entrance to the town’s Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences. The site houses paleolithic remains, including the fossil of the Mastodon of Verduno and artifacts like knives and pottery dating from the Neolithic era found along the Tanaro River and in the remains of the Roman city of Alba Pompeia.