Agrigento and Its Temples
We continued on to Agrigento to visit the Valley of the Temples. Agrigento was founded as a Greek colony in 6th century BC, and became a leading city in the Mediterranean. Most of the ancient town still lies buried under the fields and orchards.
The Valley is an archaeological park and some temples, named after Greek gods, were almost in a straight line.
There is the Temple of Zeus with its U-shaped cuts, used for ropes to lift and set the stones. The Temple of Concorde which is the only temple still intact in its entirity, built in 430 BC.
The Temple of Hercules is the oldest in the complex.
The Valley of the Temples shows the architectural grandeur of the Greek civilization in Sicily. Set in an area of blooming almond trees, these wonderful ruins turn a golden color in the afternoon. Unusually picturesque.
Overnighted at Hotel Tre Torri, so lovely that it was a shame not to have spent another night there.
The next morning, we visited the Archaeological Museum and set off for Palermo with a stop at Corleone. Corleone is a typical Sicilian mountain town and, yes, this was once the heartland of the Mafia. We had a memorable lunch in the park there, gathered from the little shops, including a huge array of typical Sicilian deserts. (Good food is always remembered.)
By now, my favorite lunch (along with the delicious deserts) was the Buffalo Mozzarella and Sun-Dried Tomatoes on fresh, crispy bread....so good....and a Sicily experience is at least 50% about the wonderful food...
