The Valley of the Temples
A ridge with ten Doric temples on it, and one of them almost whole.
Akragas was founded in 582 BC and by the fifth century it was one of the richest cities in the Greek world: Pindar called it the fairest of mortal cities. What remains of that season are the temples lined up along a ridge facing the sea, in an archaeological area of thirteen hundred hectares, the largest in the world.
The temple of Concordia is almost intact, and not by chance: in the sixth century AD it was turned into a church, and that saved it from demolition. The others are in varying states: the temple of Juno keeps its colonnade, that of Zeus was the largest Doric temple ever built and is now a field of blocks with a seven-metre telamon lying on the ground.
How to visit
The route is a couple of kilometres, gently downhill and without shade: in summer it is best to go at opening time or late in the afternoon, and in summer the site also stays open in the evening with the temples lit. The combined ticket includes the Kolymbethra garden, a citrus grove in an ancient quarry, which is the coolest place in the valley.
The archaeological museum stands halfway between the temples and the town, and holds the reassembled telamon. There are no campsites in the province of Agrigento: you come for the day from the Sciacca coast, from the Ragusa area or from the Trapani area.