Tuesday, March 19 - Agrigento and Grecian Temples

Agrigento was founded by the Greeks in the 5th c BC.  Then and now, it was considered one of Greece's foremost cities on the southern coast of Sicily. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

The Grecian temples are considered among the best preserved in the world, even better maintained and preserved than those in Athens.

We travelled south through the center of the island - a 2 hour drive by bus through a beautiful green agricultural valley with imposing mountains in the background.  Periodically, the fields and hills were dotted with solar panels and wind turbines, but few homes.  We assume people live in small mountain towns not visible from the valley.

 

 Old Agrigento comprises the Temples.

New Agrigento lies behind me on the ridge facing the Temples.

This area was the market place for the Greeks in the 5th c BC.

 

 

Although called the Valley of the Temples, the temples actually stand majestically on a ridge facing the sea.  The guide books say the location was selected in order to be visible from the sea, a beacon for sailors and to show that the gods guarded the sacred city from danger.

 

Notice the blue water line, just beyond the green.

 

 

Temple of Concord - 430 BC    

Considered the best preserved Doric temple after Temple Theseion in Athens. 

      

 

  

Temple of Hera

Hera was Zeus' sister and wife, and

protector of engaged and married couples.

The Romans called it the Temple of Juno.

 

 Notice the sea in the distance - the faint blue line

 

 Although it is mid-March, there are many almond trees with fuzzy, light green nut shells.  Inside is a delicate, sweet, moist developing almond.  Throughout the summer it will grow and harden into a crunchy nut used to make Amaretto, marzipan, almond paste and just plain nuts.  An almond blossom festival is held annually in February,

Sagra di Mandorlo.

We can attest to the fact that inside this furry shell is a sweet, moist developing almond.

 

Remains of the Temple of Hercules

Built (520 BC) around the time of Agrigento's founding in 582 BC,

it represents the oldest temple in the Valley.

 

Temple of Castor and Pollux - 5th c BC - named after the twin sons of Zeus

 

 

 

The gorge below was created by the excavated stones used to construct the temples.  Notice the caves...which became homes to the workers and many subsequent generations of the impoverished.

 

 

 

Dinner - Chicken Involtini w/ Fava

Beans, Artichokes and Peas

 



 

 

 

 

 

.