AGRIGENTO | SICILY

Discover Agrigento

Agrigento, close to the Sicilian south coast, splendidly dominates the Valley of the Temples. Originally called Akragas, Agrigento was founded in 581 BC by people from the islands of Rhodes and Crete. The city continued to grow in importance until it extended towards the coasts of northern Sicily, becoming Sicily’s second largest city-state. Badly looted by the Carthaginians in 406 BC, it rose again under Timoleon, who defeated the Carthaginians in 340 BC.

The Valley of the Temples is an archaeological site from the Magna Graecia era and since 1997 has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Goethe in his Italian Journey (Italienische Reise) wrote enthusiastically about the Valley of the Temples.
One of the most beautiful times for a holiday in Agrigento is between December and February when the almond trees are in blossom. It is delightful to stroll along the historic Via Atnea, or to take an interesting archaeological walk through the Roman Hellenistic quarter, visiting the Archaeology Museum and the San Nicola church. The Acropolis is in the northwest of the city.

The Pelagie Archipelago forms part of the province of Agrigento and comprises the islands of Lampedusa, Linosa and Lampione.
The furthest island from Sicily in the archipelago is Lampedusa, with its predominantly rocky coastline. The island produces cereals, legumes and grapes. Bronze Age artefacts have been found there.
Linosa is an island of volcanic origin with no fresh water springs and typical Mediterranean scrub vegetation. The island continues to practice its ancient activities of agriculture and fishing in the old, traditional ways.

In Naro one can visit numerous Baroque churches, such as S. Francesco and the Sanctuary of S. Calogero with the cave where the saint lived, as well as the fifteenth-century castle and the medieval remains of the town. The archaeological area of Sant'Angelo Muxaro, located at the top of the Sant'Angelo hill in the Platani Valley is of great importance due to the presence of various monumental, proto-historic tholos (beehive) tombs and man-made cave tombs (XII-V centuries BC), unrivalled in all Sicily, the most famous being ‘the Prince’s Cave’.