Sicily - Italy - page 562

AGRIGENTO
You must fit a trip to the Greek ruins of Agrigento into your Sicilian agenda. But
you should not stay there overnight. Much of the area is marred with unfinished
shells of buildings that are built quickly at night before local authorities can stop
them. Known as abusivismi, they are built without permits, often, it is said, for
the financial benefit of some organized-crime syndicate, and many end up being
abandoned. Many of them are plainly visible from the Valley of the Temples

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(Archaeological Park, Via dei Templi entrance indicated by signposts; € 6; western
zone daily 8:30am-7:30pm, eastern zone daily 8:30am-10pm). Founded a century
after Selinunte, Agrigento followed much the same arc—slowly growing to pros-
perity, expanding its population, investing in its temples—until its run-ins with the
ferocious Carthaginians. The city became a colony of Carthage until 210 B . C .,
when it fell into Roman hands.
GETTING THERE
Agrigento is an easy day trip from Palermo on the northern coast or from Siracusa
on the southern coast. Interurban buses run hourly from both cities to Agrigento
for around € 6 and take about 2 hours. Check the seasonal schedule at any tabac-
chi. Try to avoid buses on Sundays, when schedules rarely apply. Trains are more
reliable, departing for the 2-hour trip from Palermo's central station every 2 hours
to Agrigento. The cost is 6.70. From Siracusa, consider taking a chartered excur-

sion booked through Sicily's tourism bureau ( www.compagniasicilianaturismo.it ).
These are van tours that shuttle small groups to a site for around

€

35. The train
from Siracusa is trickier; you must first travel to Catánia and then switch to
Agrigento; the trip can take 4 to 6 hours each way. In your own car, the drive from
Palermo takes about 2 1 ⁄ 2 hours.
TOURING THE RUINS
The archaeological park and museum, which lie in the plain below the town, are
all you really need to visit on this part of the southern coast. It can be uncomfort-
ably hot here in summer, so to beat the heat start in the western zone in the early
morning, break up the day with a leisurely lunch, and a visit to the museum, and
then head to the eastern zone, which is open until 10pm. Better yet, come in the
off season. In the late winter, from February to early April, the whole valley is cov-
ered with almond blossoms.
The western zone is dominated by the Temple of Zeus, which was never com-
pleted, thanks to a Carthaginian battle and a subsequent earthquake. Had it been
finished, it would have been the largest temple ever built, with 20m-high (66-ft.)
Doric columns. Here you'll find the famous 8m-tall (26-ft.) telamon (atlas),
meant to support the structure. The nearby Temple of Dioscuri (Temple of
Castor and Pollux) is composed of fragments from different buildings. At vari-
ous times it honored Castor and Pollux (twin sons of Leda); Demeter (Ceres), the
goddess of marriage; and Persephone, the personification of spring. Across the Via
dei Templi is the eastern zone of the archaeological park. This is a far more com-
plex area, home to the oldest and most impressive of the temples. The first to your
right after the entrance is the Temple of Hercules, which was built in the 6th
century B . C . to honor, yes, Hercules. At one time it ranked in size with the Temple

€