One of the main reasons we came to Agrigento is so that we could visit the Valley of the Temples. This amazing collection of Greek structures is truly mind-boggling! Located in a valley not far out of Agrigento, it consists of a collection of ancient temples dedicated to many of the Greek gods. Some of the temples are relatively complete, others not so much. It is a vast area, which requires a great deal of walking, which, in the hot sun was quite tiring but well worth the effort. Even Irv managed to do the whole thing, which was great, considering that his leg is still giving him grief.
We started out at the Archaeological museum, which was a good place to give us a sense of how significant this site is. The museum houses a vast collection of artifacts dating back to the fifth and sixth centuries BC, and some items being even older than that. One particularly impressive piece is an almost complete telamone, one of the statues of a male figure that was used as a support in the temple of Zeus. It is some 8 metres high and stands in one room of the museum stretching to the height of two floors. We were amazed at how many different artifacts are here and how well-preserved many of them are,
.The site itself covers some 1300 hectares,and consists of a number of different temples, including the Temple of Concordia, the best preserved Doric temple in the world. It was saved from the destruction that faced many of the other temples because it was once converted into a Christian church and thus spared the looting of many of the other temples on site. In front of it is a more modern sculpture of Icarus after his failed attempt to fly. Only nine of the original 38 columns of the Temple of Heracles remain and only the remnants of the Temple of Zeus. There is a replica of the telamon that is in the museum on site at the Temple of Zeus, one of 38 that supported the temple itself. Also to be seen are four columns of the Temple-of Dioscuri, which have become the symbol for the city of Agrigento. The Temple of Juno is another of the better preserved ones, with 16 of the original 30 columns still standing.
Even though it was a rather long and hot day, with lots of walking, this was a place well worth experiencing.
For dinner we headed out to a place that got great reviews for its pizza - Pizza e Cori. The pizzas were huge and we could easily have done sharesies. I had a tomato, buffata and pistachio one that was most delish. Unfortunately the wine left a little to be desired, but the waiter was friendly and the pizza was good.