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. During Hellenistic time the urban and where excavations are still basilica which is located on the connecting some hypogees once occupied by the ancient layout shows functional under way. The third terrace North of the temple of Concord dating from the time of the civita: of the ancient Akragas characteristics. Importance was concerned political and where a marble pluteus decorated classical city on the West of the which had become the roman given to political, administration administration public buildings with bas-reliefs comes from which temple of Concord and under the Agrigentum only the remains of and social facilities which were like the bouleuterion, probably can be seen in the local garden of Villa Aurea; several its impressive temples and the arranged over different terraces even the theatre, and the upper Archaeological Museum. At the end arcosolia carved into the rock of almost intact temple of Concord and in different zones along the Forum where recently a square of the VI century AD the temple the former southern can be seen today. However the way which stretches from San surrounded with porticoes and a of Concord was converted into a fortifications which even today souvenir of its great past was not Nicola hillock to the temple of big roman temple in the middle Christian graveyard-church. Early cover the area between the forgotten and it was maintained Zeus. On the most southern end of of it was found. At the beginning Christian necropolis stretch inside temple of Concord and the thanks to the work of historians the Ridge of the Temples the first of the Roman Empire the town the Greek city walls between the temple of Juno. Events following and topographers. In 1700 the terrace where the lower agorà used enjoyed certain wealth which is temple of Hercules and the the fall of the Western Roman study of classical Antiquities was to lie was next to the plateia- shown by the necropolis in San temple of Juno. These include: Empire made the inhabitants boosted also thanks to decumanus which connected Gate Gregorio plain, below the temple the sub-divo cemetery (that is in leave the town . When the Arabs archaeological research. At the II and Gate V next to the temple of of Hercules and its monumental the open air) and its graves made came in 827 they had moved same time the town of Girgenti, the Dioscuri. This has been sepulchres like the one of Theron, into the ground and sarcophagi their new small town already to whose new name had Arab recently proved by excavations still standing today. In the IV carved into the bedrock which the western hill in the same area origins, became the destination carried out in the area below the century AD early Christian time is was in use since the III until the V where the Cathedral stands of mainly foreign travellers who temple of Zeus. A second terrace represented by the small basilica by century AD; the wide and today and where the modern went to Sicily as they were was the one where the upper agorà the stream that flows at the foot winding catacomb, that is the so town grew. In a short span of attracted by its natural beauties and the gimnasium were located of the temple of Juno, and by the called Grotta Fragapane, made by time vegetation covered the area and the fame of its monuments. The great fusion of monuments new sections such as the Agorà and nature had taken place already and the Gimnasium, the public and it was underlined by the building area next to the Museum, travellers’ descriptions where the eastern fortifications, the they showed to be attracted both Punic Quarter and the Necropolis by that unique landscape and the are not separate anymore but stunning ruins which were then are part of large sections.