AGRIGENTO - VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES

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The Valley of the Temples is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. The temples are located in Agrigento. The city was initially founded as a Greek colony in the VI century BC and it quickly became a major cultural centre. The Doric style temples in the valley were all constructed within a century. Having been set ablaze by the Carthaginians in 406 BC, the buildings were restored by the Romans (I century BC) respecting their original Doric style. The only temple to survive intact is the Temple of Concord which, in the VI century AD, was converted into a Christian church. During the Middle Ages, masonry was removed to help construct other buildings, in particular the Temple of Zeus, known locally as the Giant's Quarry, provided material for the church of San Nicola and the XVIII century part of the jetty at Porto Empedocle. All the buildings face east, respecting the Classical criterion (both Greek and Roman) that the entrance to the cella (Holy of Holies) where the statue of the god was housed could be illuminated by the rays of the rising sun, the source and blood of life. Built of limestone tufa, the temples provide a particularly impressive sight at dawn and even more so at sunset when they are turned a warm shade of gold.

Church of San Biagio and Rocky Sanctuary of Demeter

The little Medieval Church of San Biagio is built in the cella of a temple sacred in the V century BC to Demeter and Persephone (or Kore). Not far from here, going down a stairs extracted in a rocky spur, we arrive in the Rocky Sanctuary of Demeter, the most ancient holy building of the city, with masonries and hypogeum dating to the VII century BC, some got in the rock and with an efficient hydraulic plumbing with main in terracotta. It is formed by a portico and two columns which the cella follows. Near there are also ruins of Greek fortifications.

Temple of Hera Lacinia (Juno)

The Temple of Hera Lacinia (Juno) is situated at the top of the hill and is traditionally dedicated to the protector of matrimony and childbirth. Built around the V century BC, it was set ablaze by the Carthaginians in 406 BC (evidence of burning is still visible on the walls of the cella). The temple was initially constructed with 34 columns of which 30 still remain standing. To the east is the altar of the temple, while, at the back of the building (beside the steps), there is a cistern.

Temple of Concord

The Temple of Concord is one of the best-preserved temples surviving from Antiquity and, of all the temples in the valley, it is the only one to remain relatively intact, thereby providing an insight into the elegance and majestic symmetry of other such buildings. It is believed that this temple was constructed around 430 BC, but it is unclear as to which god this temple was erected for. The temple got its name from a Latin inscription found near the temple. The temple is a typical example of the architectural refinement in temple building known as "optical correction": the columns are tapered (becoming narrower at the top so as to appear taller) and have an entasis (a very slight convex curve at about two-thirds of the height of the column which counteracts the illusion of concavity); they are also slightly inclined towards the central axis of the temple facade. This allows the observer standing at a certain distance from the temple to see a perfectly straight image. The reason the temple was has survived intact is due to its transformation into a church in the VI century AD.

Villa Aurea

The name of the villa comes from the name of the near so-named "Porta Aurea" (Golden Gate). From this gate, in 210 BC, the Roman soldiers, commanded by the consul Levino, came in after six months of siege. In 1920s Sir Alexander Hardcastle, a passionate patron of archeology who financed also the re-erection of the columns of the Temple of Heracles, bought it and lived here. In the garden of Villa Aurea there is a share of the Paleochristian necropolis, dug into the base rock, not far from the ancient walls of the city. There are various type of ancient tomb: loculi (cells or chamber for corpse or urn) and arcosolia (arched cavities like a niche), as often found in catacombs. Now in the villa is housed the Direction of the archaeological area, where temporary exhibitions are staged.

Temple of Heracles (Hercules)

Conforming to the Archaic Doric style, the Temple of Heracles (Hercules) is the earliest of the group. The construction of this temple was completed during the later part of the VI century BC. It was originally built with 38 columns, but today only 8 remain standing. The temple was dedicated to the legendary Hercules, who is the national hero of Sicily and in particular the city of Agrigento.

Tomb of Theron

Initially the Tomb of Theron was believed to be the tomb of the tyrant Therone, but studies seem to suggest that this was in fact built to honour those who courageously fought and lost their lives during the Second Punic War. Made of tufa, it is slightly pyramidal in shape and probably once had a pointed roof. The high base supports a second order with false doors and Ionic columns at the corners.

Temple of Asclepius (Esculapius)

Jusy beyond the Tomb of Theron, there is the Temple of Asclepius, dedicated to the Greek god of medicine, who was son to Apollo. Many people visited this temple because it was believed that Asclepius had the power to heal all those who were sick. It was constructed during the V century BC and what is left of the temple can be found in the middle of the countryside.

Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore (or of the Chthonic)

The Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore (or of the Chthonic) is a holy enclosure in which there are still now visible the ruins of four temples and various altars. The complex, dated to the VI century BC, was sacred to the divinities of the underworld, Demeter and Persephone. On the basis of the legend, Demeter, godess of grain and fertility, after that the daughter Kore (Persephone) was kidnapped by Ade, the god of the underworld, asked to Zeus to share her destiny living in the hearth of the earth for a period of the year.

Temple of Castor and Pollux (Dioscuri)

The Temple of Castor and Pollux or of the Dioscuri is the veritable symbol of Agrigento. This temple was built in the V century BC and it was dedicated to Leda and Zeus' twins. Of the 34 columns used to make this temple only 4 remain standing.

Temple of Zeus (Jupiter)

This temple was built to thank Zeus for the victory of the people of Agrigentum (allied with the Syracusans) against the Carthaginians at Himer in 480 BC. The temple was one of the largest of all Doric style buildings, but it was never completed due in part to the Carthaginian raid in 406 BC. If it had been completed it would have been the largest temple in the Greek and Roman world. The entablature was supported by half-columns 20m high, which probably alternated with giant male caryatids (atlantes or telamons), one of which can be seen in the local archaeological museum. A reproduction of an atlantes is displayed in the midlle of the temple, giving some idea of scale proportional to the vast building. Instead of the more usual open colonnade, this temple is surrounded by a continuous screen wall sealing off the spaces between the columns which, inside, become square pilasters. Some blocks still bear the marks made for lifting them into place: these are deep U-shaped incisions through which a rape was threaded and then, attached to a kind of crane, could be used to lift or haul the blocks one upon another.

Temple of Hephaistus (Vulcan)

In the distance, last on the imaginary line linking all the temples of the valley, is the Temple of Hephaistus (Vulcan), of which little remains. According to legend, the god of fire and the arts had a forge under Etna where he fashioned thunderbolts for Zeus, assisted by the Cyclops.

Church of San Nicola

The Church of San Nicola is a magnificent medieval evidence, last monument connected to the religion rose in this area. The church dominates from a rise the Valley of the Temples. It was built by the Cistercians in XIII century in Romanic-Gothic style, using again the material coming from the temples. The inside has only a nave and keeps, among the beauties, a Roman sarcophagus of II-III century AD.

Archaeological Regional Museum

The Archaeological Regional Museum, staged in the Convent of San Nicola, is a basic stop to understand the huge splendour of Agrigento and the entire Sicily. The inside is dominated by the reconstruction of the gigantic Telamon, coming from the Temple of Zeus. The Museum houses also a cartographic documentation and ancient testimonies about the history of Agrigento, collections of ceramics with red and black figures (VI-V century BC), votive materials from the temples of Agrigento, etc.

Unesco World Heritage Site

In 1997 the Valley of the Temples is been declared Unesco World Heritage Site on the basis of these criteria:

- Criterion (i): to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

- Criterion (ii): to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;

- Criterion (iii): to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

- Criterion (iv): to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensamble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.