Valle dei Templi, Agrigento

The drive from Selinunte to Agrigento took is through a range of landscapes from dry rugged mountains through green fertile valleys with olive groves, vineyards, and fields of artichokes. A hot, sunny day would have been welcomed, but since our tour of the archeological site of the Valle dei Templi started around 2:00 pm, we faced a wrathful sun where even the scant shade of a large rock or olive tree was like a gift of the gods. I must say that it was good to be in the company of Zeus, Hera, and Hercales among the 5th century B.C. Greek Temples. But I wondered just who the goddess of cold water on a hot day might be? 

Hiking up the hot and dusty trails to these magnificent stone temples was worth the travail; where ele in the world  can you visit such an ancient and sacred place and ponder the beliefs and culture that drove these Greek settlers to painstakingly build these monuments to their gods? It really is sacred ground suffused with archictural invention, genius, engineering prowess, and organization.

       The Temple of Concordia is one of best preserved Doric Greek temples in Agrigento, mainly because it was re-purposed as a Christian church in the 5thcentury AD; about a thousand years after it was built. 

The Temple dedicated to Hera...probably the second best preserved Greek Temple at the Valle dei Templi. Pictured are Doug, Tam , Herve, Virginia, and Evelyn (photographer not included). Both this temple and the Concordia still have some of the interior cella walls; a real bonus to see.

  The Temple Castor and Pollux. Only four columns remain, but still a timeless reminder of the ability to achieve elegance in tons of stone.

We've had some Internet problems, or more precisely, our Verizon account is not working for some reason. So although the visit to Agrigento was on Thursday, Sept. 18, the posting is on the 19th. Hopefully, I'll manage a posting of today's visit (the 19th)  to the Villa Romana Casale at Piazza Armerina on Saturday, Sept. 20. This Roman Villa's mosaics are unparalleled.

Ciao,

David