The Valley of the Temples has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is certainly the most important testimony of the ancient, classical culture of Sicily. It brings together the temples of gods and goddesses as well as the area of the necropolis and sanctuaries outside the walls.

Come along on Eat, Sip and Connect Under the Sicilian Sun and visit the Valley of the Temples with us!

It is important to remember to use sunscreen and bring your sunglasses when we visit – there is no shade at the site and it will be hot!

 The Temple of Dioscuri

The temple of Castor and Pollux (Dioscuri), the legendary twin brothers, born from the union of Jupiter and the queen of Sparta, nowadays has only four columns left and has become the symbol of Agrigento.

The giant Telamone at the Temple of Zeus

The temple of Olympian Zeus (Jupiter) was built to thank Zeus on the occasion of the Agrigentines’ victory over the Carthaginians, in 480 BC.  Here are the famous atlases, some gigantic statues of human shape, once used as columns or pilasters.

Temple of Concordia

The Temple of Concordia, also built around the 5th century, is located along the via Sacra and is one as well of the best-preserved temples. In the sixth century, it was transformed into a sacred building. The name Concordia comes from a Latin inscription found near the temple itself.
In front of the Temple, you can admire the statue of Icarus, donated by the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj. The statue represents the Fall of Icarus, who disobeyed his father Daedalus, he flew too close to the sun, burned his wings of wax, and fell into the Mediterranean.

The Temple of Heracles (Hercules) 

The temple of Heracles (Hercules) is the oldest one.  Inside it kept a bronze statue of Hercules himself, which the Akragantines loved very much.  The temple, destroyed by war and natural disasters, today has only eight columns left.

 The Temple of Aesculapius (Asclepius)

The temple of Aesculapius was built far outside the ancient walls of the city, a place of pilgrimage for the sick who asked to be healed. The walls of the temple were covered by the words of the sick who obtained healing.  At first, the temple was built to worship the namesake God of medicine, the one who in the Greek epoch was believed the healer of all diseases. This temple is located amid a plane called San Gregorio. It has semi-columns that rise from a basement with three stairs.

The Tomb of Theron

The tomb, near the Golden Gate, is an imposing pyramidal monument made of tuff stone. It was built in memory of the fallen of the Second Punic War.  Theron died 473 BC.  He was the son of Aenesidamus and was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily from 488 BC. According to legend, he came to power by using public funds allocated for the hire of private contractors meant to assist with a temple building project, to instead hire a personal group of bodyguards. With this force at his disposal, he was able to seize control of the town’s government.

The Temple of Vulcano

The temple of Vulcano whose ruins suggest it once was an imposing building, dates back to the fifth century.  In its foundations, the remains of an archaic temple were found.

The Temple of Juno 

Its name, like that of the nearby Temple of Concordia, is conventional as a result of a wrong interpretation of a Latin inscription that aligns it with the temple of Hera, in Crotone. Placed spectacularly in the easternmost part of this magical hillside, it housed the cult of the goddess of fertility. The traces of fire, amazingly still visible in the walls of the cell, remind us of 406 B.C. when this magnificent temple, almost identical to that of Concordia, was destroyed by the Carthaginians. Nearby, there is also a visible big altar for sacrifices (the East side) and a section of street deeply furrowed by carts coming from the city’s “Gate III”.

 All our featured excursions are included in the pricing of our retreats.  For more information see our website at https://charetreats.com/ or telephone us at 1.201.805.5570.