Valley of the Temples - Agrigento

Founded in 580 BC by settlers from the colony rhodium - Cretan Gela, the city occupied a large calcarenitic plateau delimited and naturally defended by steep cliffs, surrounded by Akragas and Hypsas rivers and not far from the sea. The harbour of city was placed at the mouth of the river Akragas, where now stands the fishing village of San Leone.

The Temple of Vulcan is located beyond Kolymbetra, on a small rocky plateau degrading from east to west. It was originally a canonical Doric temple, with six columns on the short side and thirteen on the long side, of which only two remain. The temple dates from the last third of the fifth century BC, while inside the cell were discovered the foundations of a pre-existing archaic temple, of which were found some elements of the decoration of the roof, made of polychrome earthenware, displayed at the Archaeological Museum.

The temple of Hercules is the most archaic of the great Doric temples in Agrigento, it has been built in the late 6th century BC. Even the attribution of this temple is uncertain: it appears in a passage in Cicero that recalls the existence of a temple dedicated to Hercules in the agora, recognized in the northest area

On of the best preserved temples of the greek world is the temple of the Concordia, which was built around 440/430 BC. The temple is surrounded by columns (six on the fronts and thirteen on the long sides), enclosing a closed cell in which was kept the statue of the deity, preceded by a vestibule and followed by a rear compartment, both with two columns in the front.

In early Christian period the entire southern part of the hill temple was occupied by a large necropolis, a sign that the urban perimeter was significantly reduced. On the same walls, tombs arcosolium were carved, surmounted by a niche that is arched carved into the rock; in the underground, reusing the oldest tanks in several cases, were dug underground tombs, among which the largest is the underground Fragapane

The temple of Juno occupies the south-eastern side of the hill of temples. It was built between 460 and 440 a. C.

The temple of Demeter is on the eastern slopes of the Rock of Athena. Built of local limestone in 480/470 BC, the building is of the Doric order, without colonnade, with a cell preceded by two columns between the altar piece. The roof was decorated with Lion’s head dripstones. The temple’s remains were embedded in the medieval church of San Biagio, of Norman Age; behind the apse of the church you can see the foundations of the building. Along the north side are disposed two round altars with central well, discovered full of votive offerings,

The Hellenistic-Roman quarter is a large urban area of Roman Age, made up by three blocks, bounded by the intersection of big East-West roads (decumani) with cardines that is with a dense network of North–South streets. Within the three blocks, there are 27 houses, organized around a central courtyard.

The temple, of Doric style, consists of an entrance atrium (pronaos), preceded by two columns , and of a rectangular room (cell). It is supposed that the pilgrims, arriving at the sanctuary, started the cultic and therapeutic itinerary with purification rites near the fountain. The itinerary continued with ex-voto offerings in the little wells.