One of the highlights of our Sicily trip was our visit to the Greek ruins just outside Agrigento. The site is called the Valley of the Temples. We were not sure we were heading in the right direction, but soon a temple loomed in front of us from its lofty position above the plain…it is on a ridge, not in a valley after all.
The site is well managed. There is an enormous car park at one end, beside the ticket office. From here it is possible to take a taxi to the upper end of of the site. If you enter through the car park end, small vehicles like golf buggies will take you through the site to the end. It is 2 kilometres long and on a hot day walking both ways can be a bit much. We chose the taxi option. The entry fee was €10 and the taxi about €8.
The first temple we came upon was the Giunone, built between 450 and 440BC.
This is the highest part of the ridge and offers great views of the site and the city of Agrigento in the distance.
What a pity these ancient olive trees can’t speak and tell us of what went on over the years.
Part of the 12 kilometre wall that surrounded the Ancient Greek site remains.
You can get up close to see how it was constructed.
There are cavities in the rock face with curved upper surfaces. These are tombs called arcosolia and were built between the 4th and 7th centuries AD.
Excellent sculptures have been recovered on the site. This one is a togati statue uncovered in the excavation of 2005.
Naturally there is a cafe for lunch or a snack…this is Italy.
A little further on is the Doric Temple of Concordia built between 440BC and 430BC. It is well preserved thanks to a much later modification when it was covered with white stucco.
When we were there Igor Mitoraj’s sculpture Ikaro Caduto (2011) was resting comfortably in front of the temple. It seemed appropriate. I have seen Ikarus in Pietrasanta…he gets around.
In 1921 Sir Anthony Hardcastle, a captain in the British army, built a villa on the site and lived there until his death in 1933. He financed many of the excavations.
Thanks to him 8 columns if the Temple of Hercules were re erected and many ancient monuments were discovered. I can’t imagine that anyone would be allowed to build a house nowdays, but at least he did good things. His bust sits in the courtyard in front of his house.
Next stop on our wandering was the Temple of Hercules.
The nearby Temple of Zeus has been reduced to a pile of rocks, which is a pity as it was the largest Doric Temple in the western world. It was built from local calarenite stone probably between 488 and 472BC. The stone has been looted for centuries. In the 18th century it was used as a stone quarry for the construction of the dock of Empedode (1749-1763)…criminal really.
The next area we visited was the Sanctuary of Chthonic Deities and the Temple of the Dioskouroi. Demeter and Persephone, mother and daughter team, were the patrons of fertility.
We wandered in the warm, spring Sicilian sun for several hours being amazed and awed by these incredible ruins. The site is well managed and kept in excellent condition.
Huge numbers of people descend on the ruins every day, but the area is vast and certainly didn’t seem too crowded the day we were there.
Don’t miss the Greek ruins at Agrigento!
I have always wondered why so many ancient statues are minus their heads?
By: Andrew Petcher on September 5, 2016
at 9:17 am
Perhaps they were the easiest bits to break off and steal
By: Debra Kolkka on September 5, 2016
at 11:48 am
An excellent account of a place we visited in december 2011.
By: Francis on September 5, 2016
at 11:03 am
Thank you. It was a great place to visit.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 5, 2016
at 11:48 am
From Campania to Sicily, the Magna Graecia is a real treasure. We visited Paestum a couple of years ago and it is also a wonderful place.
By: Mulino Dominillo on September 5, 2016
at 12:07 pm
I haven’t been to Paestrum, but I have heard lots of good things about it…one day.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:07 am
Very nice photos of a place I’d like to visit! 🙂 There was a very good exhibition in the British Museum about Sicily recently which was about – partially – the Greeks in Sicily and mentioned the temples near Agrigento and it really made me want to go and see it for myself.
By: arwen1968 on September 5, 2016
at 5:18 pm
Sicily has some wonderful things to see. I hope you make it one day.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:08 am
Wow, that looks amazing! I must go there. (I keep saying that, so one of these days I’m going to have to make it there.)
By: The Daily Cure on September 5, 2016
at 7:14 pm
There is much to see in Sicily. I hope you get there.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:09 am
I’ve never been to Sicily but your photos certainly do make it enticing.
By: Karen on September 5, 2016
at 7:33 pm
We enjoyed our trip around Sicily. We will return to see some of the things we missed.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:09 am
Beautiful photos of these spectacular monuments. I’ve visited them a couple of times and they’re also quite evocative in the evening with lights.
By: karenincalabria on September 5, 2016
at 9:37 pm
We didn’t stay the night in the area, but it must look beautiful.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:10 am
Those photos came out great. Was there any security around the ruins, or were the people free to roam around?
By: Vinny Idol on September 7, 2016
at 4:37 pm
The temples were fenced, but a few people did jump over the barriers and climb into the temples, which I thought was unacceptable. Security was’t obvious.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:12 am
That’s awful. I dont understand why people cant respect the history and splendor from a distance.
Thanks for responding.
By: Vinny Idol on September 8, 2016
at 2:15 am
Thanks for the beautiful photos! Happy Wednesday ♥
summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
By: Summer Daisy on September 7, 2016
at 6:01 pm
It is a beautiful place to visit.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:12 am
Looks very beautiful!
By: Ticket to Adventures on September 7, 2016
at 7:24 pm
The area is well maintained and a pleasure to visit.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 8, 2016
at 2:13 am
What an amazing site and thanks for sharing this with us Debra! Yes imagine if the olive trees could talk!
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on September 8, 2016
at 10:55 am
I love the two pictures of the gnarly olive trees, they are wonderful.
By: apollard on September 9, 2016
at 4:56 pm
[…] ruins in Sicily make the trip worthwhile all by themselves. We visited Agrigento, Segesta and some amazing Roman mosaics I haven’t written about […]
By: 2016 travels | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on December 27, 2016
at 7:55 am
[…] чрез Всичко е гръцки за мен – Бани ди Лука и Отвъд […]
By: GOOD LUCK on February 5, 2017
at 7:16 am
He was Alexander Hardcastle, not Anthony and not Sir.
He bought the Villa Aurea, he did not have it built.
By: peter duckers on January 7, 2022
at 1:27 pm
Thank you for your comment. I took the information from what I found at the site.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 7, 2022
at 4:15 pm
[…] Agrigento offers a far better view of ancient life. It is much more compact and more interesting…It’s all Greek to me […]
By: Ancient ruins in Selinunte | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on August 13, 2022
at 9:31 pm