Are you going to discover the historical monuments of Sicily? Go to the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, you will not be disappointed!
Visiting the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is a must-see passage from any trip to Sicily. The largest island in Italy and the Mediterranean, Sicily houses wonders of invaluable value. Among its beaches, gastronomy and culture are the Valley of the Temples, located between the city of Agrigento and the seaside resort of San Leone, on the southern coast of Sicilia. This unique archaeological site in the world bears witness to a city founded in 582 before our era by Greek settlers from Géla, which quickly established itself as one of the most brilliant and prosperous colonies of the Hellenic West. These Greek ruins are the most famous of the Gallo-Roman vestiges of Sicily, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and attracting tens of thousands of visitors all year round.
Going to Sicily without visiting the Valley of the Temples would be like visiting Granada (Spain) without visiting the Alhambra : it’s passing by a trip! This is our mini-guide to make the Valley of the Temples!
How to visit the Temple Valley?
If you're driving, you'll have to take the SS115 road along the southern coast of Sicily, either from Géla or from Realmonte. Take it via Giuseppe the Loggia and park in the parking lot of the site name (5 € per day). This is from this west entrance, Porta Quinta that we started the visit. The Valley of the Temples – which is less a valley than a city built on a rocky promontory – is an archaeological estate of 1,300 hectares, composed of a dozen doric temples built between 510 and 430 before our Christian era. It is recommended to arrive in the morning, both for the parking space and for the suffocating heat that it may do after noon.
To have visited it, the site has very few explanatory panels. The free visitor is just burying on the main aisle and photographing the remains. As a result, if you want to know the history of building temples, you will have to opt for a visit with a guide (private guided tour by reservation, from your hotel in Agrigente or from the Junon Temple ticket office).
The temples to see absolutely
The visit includes a dozen temples in total. It should be remembered that the city of Agrigento – Akragas in ancient Greek – was in the middle of the 5th century BC, more temples than there are on the Achenean acropolis. Here is a brief presentation of the temples to be done.
The Temple of Hera : Built around -460 or -450, this doric temple perishes six columns wide and 13 columns long, was burned by the Carthaginians in -406, and repaired by the Romans during the 1st century BC. Since the 18th century, 25 of the 34 columns of the peristyle have been reconstituted. It is one of the most famous temples of Agrigento.
The Temple of Concord : This temple is with the Hephase of Athens, one of the best preserved of Greek antiquity. Probably erected between -440 and -430, it is also the best known of the temples of Agrigento. He was rehabilitated in the Christian basilica in the 6th century after J-C and perhaps this religious use preserved him from the times.
The Temple of Heraclès : Built towards -500, it is the oldest ancient temple of the site. Located in the east of the park, there are only a few ruins and stones on the ground. This temple has a peristyle of 6 columns by 15, of which there are only 8 columns.
The Temple of Zeus Olympien : This temple – named Olympieion – was never completed because it was shaked and burned by the Carthaginians in -406. If it had not been destroyed, it would have been the largest of all the doric temples and the third among the Greek temples, with large dimensions: a peristyle of 7 columns by 14, measuring 112 meters by 56, columns of 20 meters high, and gigantic statues of 8 meters used to support the cover of the temple: the Atlantes (for the Greeks) or Zelamons (for the Romans). A reconstruction of one of these statues is at the archaeological museum.
The Temple of the Dioscures : Near the remains of houses and ruins of the Olympia, this temple of the Dioscures (dedicated to Castor and Pollux) was built in the middle of the 5th century, like the Temple of the Concord. With the latter, it is one of Agrigento’s most common postcard photos. It is noted that the scientific community disagrees with the anachronistic reconstruction of the temple.
Practical information to visit the Temple Valley (times, rates...)
Visiting the Valley of the Temples (10 € per entrance), take a look at the Archaeological Museum of Agrigento, located in the archaeological site. The entrance is 8 €, but with a Valle des Temples + museum ticket, the price is 13,50 €.
As explained above, it is interesting to have a guide or at least an audio guide.
If you want to visit the valley of the temples, enjoy the entrance to the museum while having a guide, here is a a 4 hour tour of temples and museum with guide .
The site is open all year from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the last entry is an hour before the closure.
Provide a lot of water and what to cover the head – especially in the summer, where it can make more than 40°C – because there is absolutely no shadow on the site.
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