Valley of the Temples

Valle dei Templi

The temple complex of Akragas, a 5th-century BC Greek colonial city. The Temple of Concordia is the best-preserved Doric temple outside mainland Greece.

The Valley of the Temples is the site of Akragas, an ancient Greek city. In the 6th and 5th centuries BC it was one of the wealthiest cities in the Mediterranean, and the poet Pindar called it 'the most beautiful city built by mortals.' The site actually lies along a ridge rather than in a valley. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and is one of the largest archaeological parks in the world, covering about 1,300 hectares. Along the roughly 2 km temple avenue, from east to west, you pass the Temple of Hera (also called the Temple of Juno); the Temple of Concordia (430 BC), which survived because it was converted into a church in the Middle Ages and whose 34 columns stand almost intact, making it the emblem of the site; the Temple of Hercules, the oldest; and the collapsed Temple of Olympian Zeus, once the largest temple in the Greek world. Lying on the ground is a replica of Telamone, a giant statue 7.5 meters long. Tickets cost about 13 euros, or about 17 euros with the Archaeological Museum. In summer the park stays open until 23:00, and the temples look cooler and more photogenic under lights. The park has two entrances, the Giunone Gate on the east and Porta V on the west. An electric shuttle bus (about 3 euros) runs between them, so you can avoid backtracking. From Agrigento train station, take bus lines 1, 2 or 3 for about 15 minutes. By car, it is about 2 hours from Palermo and about 2 hours from Catania. Bring plenty of water and a hat. In winter and spring, strolling among almond and olive trees is very pleasant. Nearby, the Giardino della Kolymbethra, an ancient orchard protected by FAI, requires a separate ticket.

Valley of the Temples

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