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Let’s start by visiting the old town with its small roads which bring us back to Arabic and Norman periods when can admire in silence from the summit of the city the wonderful “Valley of the Temples” the white branches of the almond trees in bloom during February or the orange of the ruins at sunset. Within the valley we can admire the very simple silhouette of San Nicola Church where we will find Fedra’s sarcophagus, nearby there is the museum which holds the marble perfection of the Ephebe and the beautiful greek vases.
Agrigento is, also, the place where Pirandello’s novels were set, the land where on San Calogero’s feast day popular traditions take place; it is a a blast of nature in the African sea, with the brilliant white marl of the Turkish Steps and the fascinating Kolymbetra Garden.
It’s also a blaze of colours and shapes in the “frutta di marturana” (fruit made of an almond mixture) the delicate taste of the “cassata di ricotta” a cake made with fine ricotta cheese and our wonderful cakes made with pistacchio.
It’s a meeting of cultures, with its breathtaking scenery, lots of traditions and amazing food: all this can be found in this wonderful place.
In the old town you can visit San Gerlando’s Cathedral, The Lucchesiana Library, Saint Lorenzo’s Church, The Mudia Museum, Saint Maria of the Greeks Church, Saint Spirito’s Abbey, The Pirandello Theatre, Palazzo dei Filippini.
In The Valley of the Temples which in 1998 was declared by Unesco a “World Heritage Site” the various temples Concordia, Giunone Lacina and Ercole, and the ruins of the other doric temples:
Giove Olimpico, Castore and Polluce, Esculapio, Vulcano.
Within the Valley there is a Hellenistic Roman Area, S. Nicola’s Church beside Falaride’s Oratory.
The regional archaeological museum which contains many interesting objects found over the years, an important collection of greek vases with red inserts the marble statue of Efebo. The Kolymbetra Garden and not far away the home where Luigi Pirandello was born.
