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Agrigento
Founded with the name of Akragas by the
inhabitants of Gela in the 6th century BC., Agrigento quickly became
an important centre in Magna Grecia. Destroyed by Carthage in 406 BC.,
it rose again and about two centuries later was under Roman rule.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was dominated by the Goths and
then the Byzantines (6th century). In 829, it was taken by the Arabs,
who destroyed the town only to rebuild it on a higher site.
Agrigento is situated on Sicily's southern coast and its Valley of the
Temples (Valle dei Templi) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of
the greatest legacies of ancient Greece.
In the Valley of the Temples there 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 and a
fine archeological museum.
The main monuments are the Doric temples dating to the 6th and 5th
centuries BC., dedicated to Hercules, Olympian Jupiter, Juno, Castor,
Pollux and Demeter, as well as the temple called 'the Concordia',
still in an excellent state of preservation. The Tomb of Terone, the
Oratory of Phalaris and other small temples are also of great interest.
Other monuments include the church of S. Nicola (Romanesque-Gothic,
13th century), the Duomo (14th century, with later alterations), the
church of S. Spirito.
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