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Today, Agrigento is the heir
to a city that in ancient times was called ''the most
beautiful city of the mortals.'' (Pindaro). Of this once
great city remain interesting archaeological ruins and finds.
A visit to the beautiful temples is an absolute must, they
were the maximum expression of the Greeks ingenous artistic
expression.
In the Valley of the Temples are the ruins of numerous
temples but also necropoli, houses, streets and everything
else one would expect to find in an ancient city. There is a
small amphitheatre, as well as several auditoria, and a fine
archeological museum. Unfortunately, most of the temples at
Agrigento are in ruins, with pieces strewn about, and
several appear to have never even been completed. Part of
the Temple of Juno, built around 450 BC, is still intact.
Its style has been compared to that of the temples at Paestum, near Salerno. The Temple of Concord (named
retroactively), built around 440 BC, is in far better
condition, and at night the illuminated temple is a sight to
behold. A number of telamons (large segmented stone columns
in the form of human figures) have been preserved.
The ruins of a Roman villa
are located at an archeological site a few kilometers up the
coast from Porto Empedocle. There is a nice beach nearby the
shipping town of Porto Empedocle. The birthplace of Luigi Pirandello,
(1867-1937) a Nobel prize-winning author, is located in the
tiny hamlet of Caos, where his house is a museum. |
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