Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Next descend past a gnarled 800-year-old olive tree and a series of Byzantine tombs to the
Tempio della Concordia
. This remarkable edifice, the model for Unesco's logo, has survived almost
entirely intact since its construction in 430 BC, partly thanks to its conversion into a Christian basilica
in the 6th century, partly due to the shock-absorbing, earthquake-dampening qualities of the soft clay
underlying its hard rock foundation.
Further downhill, the
Tempio di Ercole
(Temple of Hercules), is Agrigento's oldest, dating
from the end of the 6th century BC. Down from the main temples, the miniature
Tomba di Ter-
one
(Tomb of Theron) dates to 75 BC.
Now cross the road to the Western Zone, stopping first at the
Tempio di Giove
(Temple of
Olympian Zeus). This would have been the world's largest Doric temple had its construction not been
interrupted by the Carthaginian sacking of Akragas. A later earthquake reduced it to the crumbled ruin
you see today. Lying flat on his back amid the rubble is an 8m-tall
telamon
(a sculpted figure of a man
with arms raised), originally intended to support the temple's weight. It's actually a copy; the original
is in Agrigento's archeological museum.
Take a brief look at the ruined 5th-century BC
Temple of Castor and Pollux
, and the 6th-cen-
tury BC complex of altars and small buildings known as the
Santuario delle Divine Chtoniche
(Sanctuary of the Chthonic Deities), before ending your visit in the
Giardino della Kolymbetra
,
a lush garden in a natural cleft near the sanctuary, with more than 300 (labelled) species of plants and
some welcome picnic tables.
Museo Archeologico
( 092 24 01 11; Contrada San Nicola; admission incl Valley of the Temples adult/reduced €13.50/7;
9am-7pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun & Mon)
North of the temples, this wheelchair-accessible mu-
seum is one of Sicily's finest, with a huge collection of clearly labelled artefacts from the
excavated site. Especially noteworthy are the dazzling displays of Greek painted ceramics
and the aweinspiring reconstructed
telamone
, a colossal statue recovered from the nearby
Tempio di Giove.
MUSEUM
1
Medieval Agrigento
Roaming the town's lively, winding streets is relaxing after a day among the temples.
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Greci
(Salita Santa Maria dei Greci; 9am-12.30pm & 4-6pm Mon-Sat)
This 11th-century Norman
church is built on the site of a 5th-century BC temple to Athena. Glass floor panels reveal
CHURCH
