European Spruce: Picea Excelsa or Picea Abies
German or European spruce these days comes from the former Yugoslavia region. Alpine or Italian spruce comes from the Italian Alps. Recently the two spruces have been put into one species, Picea Abies and the differences in the wood depends on where they are grown. The grain is straight and sometimes has interesting bear claw figure. Similar to Adirondack spruce in strength to weight ratio, European spruce is a historically wonderful tone wood that has been the foundation of violin building for hundreds of years. Tone-wise it is similar to Adirondack, featuring fat bright trebles and a full tight bass. As of now, both are still less expensive than Adirondack (though expensive is a relative term). Both German and Italian spruce are very popular and well liked here at Maple Leaf Music Company and we are selling lots of guitars with these tops.
Here’s an article I found on the web describing European spruces in great detail, though not in relation to the woods as used in instruments. Great maps and, technical and historical information.
http://www.lutherie.net/eurospruce.html