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Time To Slow Down Again

Agrigento, Italy, Sciacca, Sicily, , ,

Tis the festival season in this part of the world and on our second night in Agrigento it was their turn to celebrate their patron saint, San Calogero. We could see the setup underway and although The Festa San Calogero looked like it would be interesting we decided to sit this one out. Time left on our vacation is getting short and the logistics to access this one were alot more complex so we decided to relax at our hotel instead. Besides we will be in Palermo for their festival which should be quite the show from what I understand.

The one thing we could see from the festival was the fireworks and it was quite the show. An interesting situation to be in, on one side of the hotel was a celebration of a modern saints and religions and on the other was a ‘valley’ full of memorials to past deities where many festivals took place as well. Food for thought…

On the last full day in Agrigento we had no plans, only a suggested itinerary. Time for a no pressure day we decided so we slept in and went for a drive up the coast just for a look. Many beautiful vistas around here and we ended going much farther then we planned eventually ending up in Sciacca a port town with great views of the Mediterranean. We timed it a little poorly, the Sicilians take the siesta time seriously so when we arrived the town was basically shut down. We did find a nice restaurant with a great view of the harbor and the stern looking proprietor made us one of the best lunches we have had. Fishing is a major industry in this city and we watched the boats return while we enjoyed our lunch. After Sciacca we headed back to the Lido di Porto Empedocle nearer to Agrigento just to hang out. And to keep with the more relaxed day I gave the camera (mostly) the day off as well.

Sciaccia, Sicily.
Sciaccia, Sicily.
The port in Sciaccia. Next stop (south) in this view is Libya.
The port in Sciaccia. Next stop (south) in this view is Libya.
Piazza Angelo Scandaliato in Sciacca.
Piazza Angelo Scandaliato in Sciacca.
lido di Porto Empedocle.
lido di Porto Empedocle.
Looks kind of like Moss Landing... Kinda...
Looks kind of like Moss Landing… Kinda…

Country People

Agrigento, Italy, Sicily, Valle dei Templi, , ,

Funny that the Valley Of Temples is located on a hill side…

Ok let’s step back. We are staying a few days in Agrigento on the southern coast of Sicily. Situated on a plateau with two rivers and a large natural harbor nearby it was one of the largest cities in Ancient Greece. The Greeks named it Akragas And when the Romans took over they changed to Agrigento which roughly translates as “Country People”.

Being a large city in ancient times meant many temples were built and later destroyed due to religious intolerance or to have their materials repurposed. Luckily interest in what remains stopped this eventually and the Valle dei Templi, or Valley Of Temples was created to preserve this example of Greek architecture. Containing seven temples in various states the best preserved one being Temple of Concordia which was converted to a Christian church for a while helping it stay mostly intact. Other temples were dedicated to Juno, Heracles, Castor & Pollux and Olympian Zeus which which had 37 Atlas between its semi doric columns. Located on the uppers part a curtain wall that ran between the columns the atlases themselves were 25 feet tall so this temple must have been huge. As in most restorations not all has been reassembled as it originally was, for instance the temple of Castor & Pollux has been is made up of pieces of two different temples but is the most well known temples via pictures around the world so a popular place to visit.

Lucky there was a breeze blowing so it only got hot hot versus stiflingly hot and for being a trooper as Daddy hauled her up and down this two mile long “valley” Sydney was treated to Gelato and an afternoon of swimming. ‘Twas nice for the parents as well.

The Valley Of Temples in Agrigento.
The Valley Of Temples in Agrigento.

The Temple of Juno.
The Temple of Juno.

Take the picture Dad!
Take the picture Dad!

Christian tombs carved into to the old city walls.
Christian tombs carved into to the old city walls.

The Temple of Concordia with some modern art.
The Temple of Concordia with some modern art.

The Temple of Concordia.
The Temple of Concordia.

Christian Tombs from a later time.
Christian Tombs from a later time.

The Temple of Heracles.
The Temple of Heracles.

Sydney at the Temple of Heracles.
Sydney at the Temple of Heracles.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Some of the atlases of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Some of the atlases of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

The so called Temple of Castor & Pollux.
The so called Temple of Castor & Pollux.

The so called Temple of Castor & Pollux.
The so called Temple of Castor & Pollux.

A fun fair in San Leone where we had dinner.
A fun fair in San Leone where we had dinner.

The view of the Temple of Concordia from the hotel.
The view of the Temple of Concordia from the hotel.