Tour 1: Agrigento

The city Agrigento is located at the south-west coast of Sicily. Founded by the Greek in ancient times under the name of Akragas, it became one of the most important centres of the island. The poet Pindar praised Akragas as “the most beautiful of the mortal cities”. The Temples in the valley of temples are remains of these times.
Seeing these amazing buildings which survived for thousands of years is one of the highlights of a journey to Sicily.

Location and general information:

Agrigento is situated on the crossing of the main roads (Trapani – Siracusa), the 640 to Caltanisetta and the 189 to Palermo. There is a railway station and a harbour with a ferry connection to the pelegian islands. The city has 52. 000 inhabitants and is the capital of the province.

Antique sights:

Archaeological museum: 2-3 km south of the railway station you will find the archaeological museum (museo archeologico regionale) Here are displayed finds from prehistoric times till the age of the Romans. The museum is one of the most modern of Sicily and the collection is very significant.

Valley of temples:

South of the archaeological museum lies the valley of the temples: In the eastern part of the valley you find the temple of Herkules (Tempio di Ercole the temple of Concordia (Tempio di Concordia) and the templeHera Lakina (Tempio the Juno Lacinia). The Tempio di Concordia (see picture) is one of the three best preserved temples of the Greek world. In the western section are the temple of Zeus, the volcanic temple and the temple of the Dioskurs. Most of the buildings were built 500-400 years before Christ. In the same area is the sanctuary of the chtonischen divinities, which was already built by the natives of Sicily, the Sikuls.

The town of Agrigento:

In our opinion Agrigento is not particularly attractive town. Still there are some sights worth seeing: The cathedral, established in the 11th century by the normans, in the via Duomo, is worth visiting. In 17th century it was rebuilt in baroque style, the choir exhibits still sumptuous decoration. Further objects of interest are the monastery Santo Spirito and the church Santa Maria di Greci.