We were so lucky with the weather today. It poured overnight but was sunny for our outdoor tour of the valley of the temples archeological site.
We left the hotel at 9 am with a short 20 minute drive to the archeological museum. We toured the antiquities inside for about an hour and a half with a special tour guide and were shown many of the artifacts that were uncovered.
The outside of the museum
Some of the artifacts found during excavation
Also discovered were sarcophagus of young and old. Stone coffins, ornately carved.
This Telamon was discovered in pieces and put back together. The male figure was used as a supporting column on the temples
Looking outside over the archeological site, a bunker or pillbox was pointed out. Just below the bottom road. These were made by the Italians for protection in WWII
Looking outside from the museum, there’s a bit of excavation going on.
There was also an Agora (a central meeting place to discuss politics) only citizens who owned property could vote.
The site, called Akragas dates to 440 BC when most of these temples were constructed. It was left undisturbed for centuries and rediscovered in the 18th century. It’s referred to as the most impressive examples of Hellenic architecture in Sicily. In 1997 it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
The first temple we saw, the Temple of Juno was destroyed by fire in 406 BC. The Greek design shows it is 6 columns x 13 columns. Only one side remains intact.
The walls of the community were built as fortifications but were used also were used as burial chambers.
The Temple of Concordia, was built around the 5th century, and is the best preserved. In the 6th century, it was transformed into a sacred building.
Our walk lasted 2 1/2 hours and ended with lunch at the site. The restaurant specialized in food grown in the immediate area, and the meal was entirely vegetarian. The appetizers consisted of beet leaves, pumpkin and potatoes. There was also a large wedge of ricotta cheese that was warm drizzled with a little olive oil and out of this world. The “main” was pasta with a pesto of pine nuts, capers and other things I don’t remember..
Lunch appetizers were served family style. These were the beet greens , pumpkin and potatoes. There were also pita pockets of beet greens and cheese.
Our lunch restaurant. Lunch in Sicily is NOT at
Noon. Lunch is at 2 pm if you’re early.
Pistachio trees were intermingled in the landscape. There were a few goats as well with some really long horns.
Tonight we have dinner at a working organic farm with a cooking demonstration and a home made dinner.
We received a tour of the grounds and the house and had a brief cooking demonstration in this beautiful old house owned by the same family for the last five generations.
Our dinner was served at this house
The door on the right is the entrance to their private chapel
The grounds of their estate
7,638 steps before dinner.
Comments
Post a Comment