60.000 InhabitantsThe Greek town was founded the year 581 B.C. by Aristinoo and Pistilo from Gela who called it Akragas after the name of the nearby river. The town grew quickly and soon became one of the most powerful cities of the Mediterranean sea.
In 480 B.C. Akragas allied with Syracuse wan the battle of Himera against Carthage which marked the beginning of the golden century of the Greeks of Sicily. So to thank Zeus the tyrant Theron wanted the impressive temple of Olympian Zeus to be built.
The town was not only a business centre but also an important cultural place: it was the home town of Empedokles, who was the first philosopher of the western world who wrote about reincarnation, an oriental idea firstly introduced by Pithagoras who didn’t leave any writings. Empedokles was also an engineer, a mathematician, a poet, a musician, a doctor, a politician. In a word he was a genius.
All the temples which we know were built in less than a century and Akragas was described as “the most beautiful city human beings have ever built” by the famous Greek poet Pindar.
However the golden century lasted for less than a century as the town was raised down to the ground by the Carthaginians the year 407 B.C. . It was reconstructed but it never reached again the power and the beauty of the Vth century B.C. any more.
The Romans conquered it in 210 B.C. and reused the temples and the city walls. They also built new temples and some houses were renovated and decorated by beautiful mosaic floors. They called the town Agrigentum.
The Barbarians destroyed the city in the Vth century A.D.. Then the Byzantines conquered in the VIth century and converted the ridge of the temples into a cemetery and as they needed a church for it they made it in the so called temple of Concord thus contributing to maintaining it.
In the IXth century Sicily was taken by the Arabs and the town was given a Berber name Kerkent which means “rocky hill” as it was the seat of a Berber community from the North of Africa.
The Normans followed and the Bishop Gerlando converted the inhabitants to Catholicism and founded a new cathedral which today is dedicated to him.
In the XIIIth and XIVth century the town was controlled by the Chiaramonte family who founded the Monastery of Santo Spirito, which today is the most important monument of the old town.
Then during the Spanish rule the town was controlled by different Bishops who didn’t do much for it. In the meanwhile the name of it became Girgenti.
In 1740 the Spanish declared the temples National Monuments.
Goethe and other Northern European aristocrats and intellectuals visited the Valley of the Temples: that’s the time when tourism started.
In 1860 Garibaldi’s supporters set it free from the Spanish and it became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
In 1867 the Nobel Price for literature Luigi Pirandello was born in Girgenti.
In 1927 Mussolini ordered that all the Italian towns had to be called by their former Roman name and since then the town has been called Agrigento.
In 1939 some land around the temples was expropriated and became public domain.
July the 12th 1943, two days after the first landing in Europe the town was bombed by the American allies from the air and the sea. The temples were not affected but the town was.
In 1947 the archaeological site was declared regional property
In 1968 a large area of 1600 hectares around the temples was declared protected. Since 1998 the archaeological site of the Valley of the temples of Agrigento has been included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. In the year 2000 the Archaeological and landscape park of the Valley of the Temples has been founded by the Sicilian Region. It’s one of the largest of the Mediterranean area. top
Religious eventsSAN CALOGERO FEASTIt takes place between the first and the second Sunday of July every year.
San Calogero is the most venerated Saint of Agrigento although he’s not the patron Saint of the town.
According to some people he came originally from Turkey, according to others he was from Carthage. He’s a black Saint and his name in Greek means “monk”.
He lived during the prosecutions against the Christians between the IVth and the Vth century and he came to Sicily where he took refugee in a cave on Mount Kronio near Sciacca, a spa centre 50 km to the west of Agrigento. There he healed the inhabitants by using the local thermal water.
Both in Agrigento and in Naro, a town to the east of Agrigento he lived in a grotto by the present sanctuaries dedicated to him.
He spent his last days on Mount Kronio in Sciacca and according to tradition his only companion was a female dear which provided him milk. He was sick then and that was the only food he had. Unfortunately one day the dear was killed by a hunter who after finding the old lonely man decided to become a monk himself and to take care of him until he died.top
Traditional feastsTHE ALMOND TREE IN BLOSSOM FESTIVALIt’s an international folk festival taking place between the first and the second Sunday of February every year. Folk groups coming from all over the world dance in the streets of the town and in a local theatre. The best group receives a price, that is a small golden temple. It’s a festival symbol of peace.
The valley of the temples is covered with ancient olive trees and almond trees which blossom in the winter. Almond trees are the first ones to blossom and their blooming mark the beginning of spring. Blossom are white and the visit of the site at this time of the year is unforgettable. top
LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MONUMENTS IN THE OLD TOWN OF AGRIGENTO |
CATHEDRAL SANTA MARIA DEI GRECI CHURCH SAN LORENZO CHURCH known as PURGATORIO CHURCH SANTO SPIRITO CHURCH AND MONASTERY SAN FRANCESCO DI ASSISI CHURCH AND CONVENT SAN DOMENICO CHURCH ADDOLORATA SANCTUARY LUCCHESIANA LIBRARY top
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