Valley of the Temples is an extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage site located just three kilometers from Agrigento, Sicily. Here are the ruins of the ancient Greek city, Akragas, settled on a plateau overlooking an immense lowland that stretches to the Mediterranean Sea. Dispersed among gnarled olive trees are seven temples dating to the 5th and 6th century BC, when Akragas was a powerful settlement in Magna Graecia. Pindar, the Greek lyric poet, described Akragas as the most beautiful city that mortals ever built. It is truly impressive to behold the remnants of these giant sandstone masterpieces from the ancient world. Even the olive trees here seem like specters of antiquity.
After a challenging road trip across the center of Sicily, we finally arrived at Valley of the Temples in time for a surge of afternoon heat. We climbed the stone stairs to the entrance and listened to our audio guides while the sweat started to roll. Feeling a bit dazed as we trekked across the dusty ridge, we were struck with awe to encounter the first temple.
The Temple of Concordia is one of the largest and best preserved Doric temples in the world. Not far from it lays a bronze sculpture of Icarus, looking as if he just fell out of the sky after the sun melted his wax wings. This is a contemporary sculpture that was featured at an art exhibit here in 2011, but it looks stunning in this location. There is an unearthly drama about this scene where myth is resurrected by modern art.
We stopped in for a quick and restorative lunch at the café on site, then continued our tour.
After a great amount of walking in the sun, we took refuge in the shady oasis of Kolymbetra Gardens before making the journey back to the parking lot.
We returned to our bed & breakfast, Terraze di Montelusa, where the owner, Francesco, greeted us like long lost relatives. This luxurious home turned B&B has been in Francesco’s family for eight generations. Even though it looked like an antique royal salon, our suite was seventy five euros a night. From the main terrace you can see the Mediterranean coastline and Valley of the Temples.
After getting cleaned up, we strolled through the tranquil streets of the historic district in search of a place to eat. We were drawn to a small group of tables across from the church of San Lorenzo in Piazzetta Purgatorio. This turned out to be the patio seating for a restaurant called Enotria and we ended up having a lovely dinner. The crostini layered with prosciutto, fresh tomatoes, parmesan and giant capers was amazing! There were plenty of local wines to choose from and the wait staff was so nice.
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