The archaeological and landscape and Ipsas flow down to the sea park of the Valley of the temples by San Leone beach. The of Agrigento environmental and natural AgrigentoAgrigento balances are strongly enhanced The Valley of the Temples is the by the intervention of man. They Gate IX site of Akragas, an ancient city fuse admirably together with the Porta IX founded the year 581 BC by archaeological monuments, colonists from Gela and Rhodes. solemn like the temples, discrete Its history lasted for more than a and suggestive like the Gate VII thousand years and ended necropolis and the complex Porta VII between the VII and the IX hypogees. century AD, when its inhabitants However most of the ancient moved to the Girgenti hill, that is classical and roman city is still on the most western end of the hidden under almond trees and area where the ancient Greek hundred year old olive trees. TempioTemple of di Demeter Demetra Bouleuterion city used to be built. The ancient Even today the remains come to Gate VI (Council Hall) classical city which stretched the surface of this secret reserve Porta VI Bouleterion HellenisticQuartiere and RockySantuario Sanctuary rupestre ellenistico - romano between the Rupe Atenea hill to show more of its own past. In Agora'Upper Agora Superiore Roman Quarter and the Ridge of the Temples, the middle of the 1900’s an aerial Gate I OratorioPhalaris’ di Oratory Falaride PoggettoSan Nicola diHillock S. Nicola Porta I shows the remains of its view showed one of the most impressive buildings in what we interesting sides of the town: the Ekklesiasterion CaltanissettaCaltanissetta Ekklesiasterion call today the Valley of the Hippodamian street plan in the Temples, a unique art heritage. area between the southern ridge TempioTemple of di Vulcan Vulcano Not so long ago, the so called and the foot of the Rupe Atenea LowerAgorà Agora Inferiore Gate II Valley of the Temples covered hill. Six wide roads (plateiai) Porta II SanctuarySantuario of delle Colimbetra only the area between the Ridge covered this area from the East to CthonianDivinità Divinities Ctonie TempioTemple of di JupiterGiove of the Temples and the Rupe the West and were crossed by 30 TempleTempio of dei Dioscuri Dioscuri Atenea hill. Today it includes also narrow streets (stenopoi) TempioTemple of della Concord Concordia PortaGate VV the surrounding area where you according to a grid plan. All the GatePorta IV IV TempioTemple di of Ercole Hercules TempioTemple ofdi JunoGiunone find the necropolis and the buildings of the ancient city, TombaTheron’s diTomb Terone extra-moenia sanctuaries (that is including the temple of Zeus, the outside the ancient city walls), gimnasium and the buleuterion, PortaGate III III and where the rivers Akragas were inserted in this regular layout. Today clearly visible modern changes concern especially percorsoRoad carrabile the San Nicola area. There you can see the remains of ancient percorsoPedestrian pedonale path public buildings next to the different terraces connected one ingressiEntrances to the other by ramps and steps TrapaniTrapani SiracusaSiracusa and on which the city was built.

The most important period of mentioned by Diodorus (Diod. X I, where the water coming from hall, which lies on an area rich in Akragas corresponds to the first 25, 5), and which contributed to the hills used to be collected more recent remains. The ruins of two centuries of its history at the the development of the town in through the underground the ancient city still show marks time of the tyrants Phalaris and the V century BC. The temple of tunnels. In the VI century BC, at of the destruction made by the Theron (VI -V century BC). These Hercules mentioned by Cicero in the time of Phalaris, the 12 km. Carthaginians in 406 BC and two tyrants made the town its Verrine, was the first long city walls were made. especially by the Romans during wealthy in the V century BC by peripteron temple to be built on During the V century BC all the the Punic Wars, in the second conquering new land and by the southern end of the ridge of temples of the ridge were built: half of the III century BC. The winning against the the temples. About twenty years from the temple of Zeus (480 BC) beginning of the Roman era, Carthaginians in 480 BC the later the temple of Zeus was to the one of Concordia (430 BC). after the conquest’s consequent famous battle of Himera, when made next to it. During the VI The public buildings excavated in destruction, was characterised by Theron fought allied with century BC a large sacred site the last few years in the San an intense activity and is Syracuse. Thanks to the spoils of was to be found in the area on Nicola hillock area, right in the represented by the Hellenistic that war, that is mainly slaves, the western end of the ridge. It centre of the town, date back to and Roman Quarter, where Theron was able to build great has been recognised as the the IV century BC. These are the different types of houses can be public buildings such as the sacred area of the goddesses of rounded cavea of the seen: Hellenistic houses with a temple of Zeus and less known the Earth Demeter and Kore and ekklesiasterion, that is the seat of wide peristyle, houses with an but still visible water tunnels and it includes the temples, shrines, the Assembly, where 3.000 atrium and compluvium having reservoirs. Moreover he carried altars and precincts between the people could meet and on the also a portico like those found in out a policy for the improvement temple of Zeus, Gate V and the northern end of the hillock, the Pompei, houses with courtyards, of agriculture, which is Colimbetra, that is the fishpond bouleuterion, that is the Council corridors and atriums. and the was theonewhereupperagorà temple ofZeus.Asecondterrace carried outintheareabelow recently provedbyexcavations the Dioscuri.Thishasbeen II andGateVnexttothetempleof decumanus to liewasnextthe terrace wheretheloweragoràused the RidgeofTemples thefirst Zeus. Onthemostsouthernendof Nicola hillocktothetempleof way whichstretchesfromSan and indifferentzonesalongthe arranged overdifferentterraces and socialfacilitieswhichwere given topolitical,administration characteristics. Importancewas layout showsfunctional During Hellenistictimetheurban which hasthesamenameof on thesouthernendriver man. Itissurrounded byrivers: part natural andinpartmadeby stand onahighandsteepcliffin artificial reasons asitswalls great waybothfornatural and Its perimeterisdefendedina wealth whichcomesfrom that. the seaandeverybodyenjoys It stands18stadiaawayfrom buildings. fortress, itsbeautyand different reasons andalsoforits from theothertownsfor “The cityofAkragas isdifferent gimnasium which connectedGate were located plateia- (Polybius Atabyrios justlikeinRhodes”. Athena andoneofZeus of thehillthere isaSanctuaryof the cityjustbyoneroad. Ontop connected tothelowerpartof cliff andontheinsideitis on theoutsideitislimitedbya which looksatthesummerEast: city standsoverthehillside Hypsas. Theupperpartofthe wind blowsfrom therivercalled South-West where thelibeccio city, ontheWest andonthe of thetempleJuno,andby the streamthatflowsatfoot represented bythesmallbasilica century ADearlyChristian still standingtoday. sepulchres likethe of Herculesanditsmonumental Gregorio plain,belowthetemple shown bythenecropolisinSan enjoyed certainwealthwhichis of theRomanEmpiretown of itwasfound.Atthebeginning big romantempleinthemiddle anda surrounded withporticoes Forum whererecently even thetheatre, like the administration publicbuildings concerned politicaland way. under and whereexcavationsarestill , “Historiae”, bouleuterion The thirdterrace and the one ofTheron, In theIV book IX) , probably , a square upper time is called winding catacomb, thatistheso century AD;thewideand was inusesincetheIIIuntilV carved intothe into thegroundandsarcophagi the openair)anditsgravesmade the temple ofJuno.Theseinclude: temple ofHerculesandthe the Greek Christian Christian graveyard-church.Early of Concordwasconvertedintoa of theVIcenturyADtemple At Archaeological Museum. can beseeninthelocal with bas-reliefscomesfromwhich where amarble North ofthetemple basilica whichis beginning ofthe20 the endof18 Between discovered andstudied. stunning ruinswhichwerethen by thatuniquelandscapeandthe they showedtobeattractedboth travellers’ descriptionswhere and itwasunderlinedbythe and naturehadtakenplacealready The greatfusionofmonuments restored andthe the templeofZeusbegantobe studied butsomeofthemlike monuments werenotonly Hellenistic andRomanQuarter, the Temple ofZeusandthe Ridge oftheTemples monumental zonessuchasthe the alreadywellknowndifferent to deeperresearch.Today besides Valley hasbeenenrichedthanks the monumentalheritageof carried out.Inthelastfiftyyears Dioscuri andofHerculeswas the templesofJuno, sub-divo Grotta Fragapane, necropolis stretchinside city wallsbetweenthe cemetery (thatisin bedrock which pluteus located onthe anastylosis th th and the theareaof , Concord century, decorated made by the end of and the new sectionssuchasthe time vegetationcoveredthearea town grew. Inashortspanof today andwherethemodern where theCathedralstands the westernhillinsamearea their newsmalltownalreadyto came in827theyhadmoved leave thetown.WhenArabs Empire madetheinhabitants the fallofWestern Roman temple ofJuno.Eventsfollowing temple ofConcordandthe cover theareabetween fortifications whicheventoday the formersouthern arcosolia garden ofVillaAurea;several temple ofConcordandunderthe classical cityontheWest ofthe dating fromthetimeof connecting somehypogees UNESCO World HeritageList of Agrigentoincludedinthe about theValley oftheTemples translation ofthepamphlet introducing thefirstEnglish I havethepleasureof a pleasantsocialexperience. and ingeneralforguaranteeing sources inthefieldoftourism development oflocaleconomic interventions forthe promotes eventsand to conserveit.Moreoverit heritage anditslandscape this natural,archaeological in ordertoprotectandboost Park oftheValley oftheTemples Archaeological andLandscape the SicilianRegionfounded by UNESCO. InNovember2000 of theWorld Heritageprotected when itwasinscribedinthelist Valley wasrecognisedin1997 International importanceofthe are partoflargesections. are notseparateanymorebut Punic QuarterandtheNecropolis the easternfortifications, the building areanexttotheMuseum, Gimnasium Assessore RegionaleperiBeni carved intotherockof Alessandro Pagano Culturali, Ambientalie Pubblica Istruzione , thepublic Agorà and thefameofitsmonuments. attracted byitsnaturalbeauties went toSicilyastheywere of mainlyforeigntravellerswho origins, becamethedestination whose newnamehadArab same timethetownofGirgenti, archaeological research boosted alsothanksto study ofclassicalAntiquitieswas and topographers.In1700 the thanks totheworkofhistorians forgotten anditwasmaintained souvenir ofitsgreatpastwasnot can beseentoday. Howeverthe almost intacttempleofConcord its impressivetemplesandthe Agrigentum which hadbecometheroman civita once occupiedbytheancient www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali Fax +39092226438 Tel. +390922621611 della Valle deiTempli diAgrigento Parco ArcheologicoePaesaggistico Dipartimento BBCCAAeEd.P. Assessorato BBCCAAeP. I. Regione Siciliana Park oftheValley oftheTemples Archaeological andLandscape it istheemblemof who hadthesamename.Today of Akragas andoftherivergod coins ofthecitywassymbol The crab represented onancient Traduction byGiovannaLombardo This textisbyPietro Meli : oftheancientAkragas only theremainsof . At the .

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