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Alba Cathedral (Cattedrale di San Lorenzo) is a Romanesque Roman Catholic church in Alba, Piedmont, and the seat of the Diocese of Alba. Located in Piazza del Risorgimento, the cathedral dates back to the 5th century, with the current red-brick structure built in the 12th century over Roman remains. It was later reshaped in Gothic style and extensively restored following an earthquake in 1626, with further renovations in the 19th century led by Edoardo Arborio Mella.
Notable features include a 12th-century bell tower, a richly carved Renaissance wooden choir (1512), and chapels with artworks from the 18th and 19th centuries. Archaeological work in 2007 uncovered graves and an ancient baptismal font. Today, the cathedral reflects centuries of architectural evolution and remains a symbol of Alba’s religious and civic heritage.
References:Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert"s stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany"s son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house.
In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn"s rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century.