Valley of the Temples and Agrigento, Sicily
Wednesday April 9, 2008
Agrigento is a large town overlooking the sea in southwestern Sicily. Visitors flock there to visit the Valle dei Templi, Valley of the Temples, one of Sicily's must-see sites. The area was a large Greek settlement 2500 years ago and the archaeological park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, holds some of the largest and best preserved Greek temples outside of Greece.
Besides the temples, Agrigento has a small historic center and a good archeology museum. Agrigento is also where you'll find the intricately decorated Sicilian carts of master cart maker Raffaele La Scala (see Sicilian Cart Pictures).
Near Agrigento we stayed at the small and friendly Bed and Breakfast Scala dei Turchi in Realmonte, near some of Sicily's best uncrowded sandy beaches.
Find out more about visiting Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples with our Agrigento Travel Guide and take a look at Europe Travel's Agrigento Temple Pictures.
Comments
The photos are gorgeous! I loved Agrigento when we visited Sicily. It’s a real must-see place, for sure.
I can’t tell from your blog post if Il Gigante is still in the Temple of Giove, or if it has been removed to the museum. Do you know?
Il Gigante is now in the museum. It’s a very fascinating reproduction and helps you visualize what the temples would have looked like. I highly recommend visiting the museum as well as the archaeological site.
Thanks for the info! Sounds like a great excuse for a return trip!
When you arrive in Agrigento is like being transported back in time except there are a lot of Japanese tourist milling about. It was very hot in June and the view from the tombs overlooking the Mediterranean ocean were pardon the pun to ” die for”It was well worth the drive across the Island of Sicily as we came by way of Termini Imerese, gorgeous valleys and wheat fields of gold, men on donkeys with their cattle charming villas’ and farms dotted atop hills.Spectacular temples in the valley to be seen, a grove of olive trees beside were an open air markets was a thousand years before to take a nap or have some lunch. loved it a ton.