Project Description
Agrigento and the valley of temples
From Ragusa | Full Day
Agrigento and the valley of temples
After two hours drive we reach the town of Agrigento, that was one of the most prosperous towns among all Sicilian Greek colonies during the Greek time.
We drive along the South-eastern coast of Sicily enjoying a very nice view of sandy beaches, including the most famous and well known during the landing in Sicily of the allied forced in 1943, like Gela and Licata. The Valley of the Temples will be the main focus of our visit, a Unesco Site and a large archeological site whose layers describe 10 centuries of history dating back to the Greek era up to Roman and Byzantine vestiges. The Greek architecture reaches unparalleled perfection and grandiosity in the “Temple of Concordia”, still intact after 25 centuries. Not so far apart in the time machine line, the temples of Juno and Hercules represent other fantastic examples of the prosperity of this town in the past. Free time for lunch can be spent in Agrigento city centre or in the nearby sea village of San Leone.
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Agrigento
The foundation of the town of Agrigento dates back to ancient Greek time.
A group of settlers moved here coming from Gela. The glory of the town was described by the historians of the time as one the most beautiful of the ancient Greek world and the temple we see today were just a part of a grandiose plan.
The town had thirteeen kilometres of city walls and several gates, two agora and a sacred area rich of temples. The remaining of those temples are today a Unesco site from 1997, one of the most visited archeological sites in Sicily.
The park has an extension of 1300 hectars, ten doric style temples, three sancutaries and several necropolis that cover from the Greek to the paleocristian time. The aercheological museum collects statues, pieces of the temples, sarcofagus, potteries and other artifacts which narrate the history of the town from the age of the Sicanian to the Roman time, covering more than 1500 years of local history.
After the golden age of Akragas, the town was ruled by the Romans first, then Byzantine and Arabs which changed the name into Kerkent. The Normans provided the town with churches, palaces and other monuments and gave the town the name of Girgenti. In the following centuries it never got back the splendor of the ancient Greek times and its history and events followed the course of the rest of the island.
In 1900 Luigi Pirandello, an important playwriter, dramatist and novelist lived here getting the nobel prize for literature.
Agrigento today lives of farming, wine and fishing. The Valley of the temples shows the grandiosity of the past through its best temples mostly dating back to the fifth century BC.
The temple of Concordia is probably the most iconic and well known in Sicily. It is perfectly preserved because it was turned into a church and only recently the non original structures were removed after archeological campaigns.
The temple of Hera or Juno is placed on the highest point of the hill, while the temple of Hercules sits on the lowest point of the sloping ridge with its six columns of the oldest temple of the three.
The area has also other temples, among which the huge temple of Zeus and Castore and Polluce are the most remarkable.
A garden, called Kolimbetra shows us the incredible water engineering technique to drive and distribute the water to a vast town that was probably populated with almost 200.000 inhabitants.
The modern town of Agrigento today is located on top of a hill, former part of the ancient Greek acropolis and houses a web of narrow streets which witnesses the Arab soul and setting of the town.
A main street, called via Atenea, is a great place to go for a stroll, do some shopping and have a nice meal.
- Private Sedan car or Mercedes Viano up to seven seats
- Private driver speaking your language
- Fuel, motorway toll and parking fee
- Half day service with private driver and car UP TO 4 HOURS
- Full day service with private car and driver UP TO 8 HOURS
- Water bottle onboard
- Visits, stops and panoramic driving tours described on the itinerary
NOT INCLUDED:
- Archeological sites, monuments and churches entrance fees
- Local products and wine tasting or culinary experiences unless included
- Driver and local guides gratuities (we suggest 10% if services meets or exceeds your expectations)
- Local Sicilian regional licensed guide
- Meals, wine tasting or culinary experiences if not already included in the itinerary
- Yachts, helicopter or private plane rental linked to our ground transportation service
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