Attractions

Wandering Among The Ruins

Many writers are fond of suggesting that the Greek ruins in the Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) be viewed at dawn or sunset, when their mysterious aura is indeed heightened. Regrettably, you can't get very close at those times. Instead, search them out under the cobalt-blue Sicilian sky. The backdrop is idyllic, especially in spring, when the striking almond trees blossom.

Ticket booths are found at the west and east entrances (tel. 0922-26191); they're 6€ ($7.20) for adults and free for those under 18. Hours are daily from 8:30am to 7pm. Board a bus or climb into your car to investigate. Riding out the Strada Panoramica, you'll first approach (on your left) the Temple of Juno (Tempio di Giunone), erected sometime in the mid-5th century B.C. Many of its Doric columns have been restored. As you climb the blocks, note the remains of a cistern as well as a sacrificial altar in front. The temple affords good views of the entire valley.

The Temple of Concord (Tempio della Concordia), which you'll come to next, ranks with the Temple of Hephaestos in Athens as the best-preserved Greek temple in the world. With 13 columns on its side, six in front, and six in back, the temple was built in the peripheral hexastyle. You'll see the clearest example in Sicily of an inner temple. In the late 6th century A.D., the pagan structure was transformed into a Christian church, which might have saved it for posterity, although today it's been stripped down to its classical purity.

The Temple of Hercules (Tempio di Ercole) is the oldest, dating from the 6th century B.C. Badly ruined (only eight pillars are standing), it once ranked in size with the Temple of Zeus. At one time the temple sheltered a celebrated statue of Hercules. The infamous Gaius Verres, the Roman magistrate who became an especially bad governor of Sicily, attempted to steal the image as part of his temple-looting tear across the island. Astonishingly, you can still see black sears from fires set by long-ago Carthaginian invaders.

The Temple of Jove/Zeus (Tempio di Giove) was the largest in the valley, similar in some respects to the Temple of Apollo at Selinunte, until it was ruined by an earthquake. It even impressed Goethe. In front of the structure was a large altar. The giant on the ground was one of several telamones (male caryatids) used to support the largest Greek temple in the world.

The so-called Temple of Castor and Pollux (Tempio di Dioscuri), with four Doric columns intact, is composed of fragments from different buildings. At various times it has been designated as a temple honoring Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Leda and deities of seafarers; Demeter (Ceres), the goddess of marriage and of the fertile earth; or Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and the symbol of spring. Note: On some maps, this is called Tempio di Castore e Polluce. The temples can usually be visited daily from 8:30am until 1 hour before sunset. City bus nos. 1, 2, and 3 run to the valley from the train station in Agrigento.

More Attractions

A combination ticket for admission to the Museo Regionale Archeologico and the Valley of the Temples costs 10€ ($12). The Museo Regionale Archeologico (Regional Archaeological Museum), near San Nicola, on Contrada San Nicola at the outskirts of town on the way to the Valle dei Templi (tel. 0922-401565), is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 7:30pm, Sunday and Monday from 9am to 1:30pm. Admission is 6€ ($7.20), free for children younger than 18. Its most important exhibit is a head of one of the telamones (male caryatids) from the Tempio di Giove. The collection of Greek vases is also impressive. Many of the artifacts on display were dug up when Agrigento was excavated. Take bus no. 1, 2, or 3.

Casa di Pirandello (Pirandello's House), Contrada Caos, Frazione Caos (tel. 0922-511826), is the former home of the 1934 Nobel Prize winner, known for his plays Six Characters in Search of an Author and Enrico IV. Although Agrigentans back then might not have liked his portrayal of Italy, all is forgiven now, and Pirandello is the local boy who made good. In fact, the Teatro Luigi Pirandello at Piazza Municipio bears his name. His casa natale is now a museum devoted to memorabilia pertaining to the playwright's life. His tomb lies under his favorite pine tree, a few hundred yards from the house and grounds, which are open daily from 9am to 1pm and 2 to 7pm. Admission is 2€ ($2.40). The birthplace lies outside of town in the village of Caos (catch bus no. 1 from Piazza Marconi), just west of the temple zone.