"The great row of Doric temples is one of the most outstanding monuments of Greek art and culture." - this is what UNESCO said when it declared the Valley of the Temples a World Heritage Site.
What UNESCO and every holiday visitor to Sicily notices is the incredible condition of the buildings. One should thank the Romans for that.
As we saw in the overview, the military machine of the Romans chewed through the entire Mediterranean. It was what brought them to Akragas, or today's Agrigento – settled originally by the Greeks.
And what did they do after its conquest? They restored the temples! The ancient Greek gods were not after all very different from the Roman Gods. Zeus of the Greeks became Jupiter of the Romans. Aphrodite turned into Venus, and Demeter into Ceres.
The information on this site comes from our Sicily expert Britta Bohn.
Britta has been dealing with daily life and life in Sicily for over 20 years.
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A visit to the Valley of the Temples is often combined with a city tour of Agrigento.
You can get there by
The map above shows the most interesting places at the site.