Valley of the Temples

Our bus took us from Mazala del Vallo to the city of Agrigento, and the Valley of the Temples, where we were introduced to our local guide, Salvatore. He was a forensic archaeologist -- a specialist in identifying human bones. But he left his teaching position at the university several years ago, because he could make more money as a tour guide. It's too bad, because it was evident that he was a superb teacher.

Agrigento was once the Greek city of Akragas. It was established in the late 6th century B.C.E. when the Greeks displaced the Phonecians to create a satellite outpost to Syracusa. The city flourished about a hundred years later. The Phonecians launched a counter-attack, which the Greeks repelled. In the custom of the time, the Phonecian soldiers who were captured became enslaved, and that labor force of nearly 25,000 allowed for the building of a city that excelled Syracusa in both wealth and population. Part of that wealth was expended in the construction of a number of temples.

We visited three temple sites here. The first is known as the Temple of Juno, although it is not actually known which god was worshipped here. It is in classical Greek style with all of the mathematically symetrical layout and visual modifications of temples in Athens. The exception is that there is no marble in Sicily, so these temples were built from local sandstone covered with a durablle plaster to mimic the marble.

This temple is currently an active archaeological site, with students conducting supervised digs around the sacrificial altar and the temple foundations. They are hoping to determine the actual god to whom this grand temple was dedicated.

The second temple we visited is known as the Temple of Concordia. This name was derived from a Roman period tablet that was found on the site that began with that Latin word. However, it is now known that the temple was dedicated to the worship of the Gemini twin gods

Unlike most ancient temples, including the Temple of Juno we had just visited, the Temple of Concordia is not a restoration. It is the second most intact temple of the ancient world, and the most well-preserved outside of Greece. The reason for this is that the Byzantines converted this temple into a church when they arrived here in the 6th century C.E. Rather than destroying it, they converted it. Thus, the temple was preserved. It is in the classical style and a wonder to behold.

Finally, we visited the Temple of Hercules. Unlike the first two temples, that have names that don't necessarily correspond to the gods who where originally worshiped there, this temple is known to have been dedicated to Hercules in the Greek period, and to the Roman equivalent, Ercules later on. The temple has suffered much from earthquake damage over the centuries, and had only modest restoration in the 1920s and '30s.

Following our fascinating visit to the temples, our bus took us to lunch in a beautiful private home. We all ate at one long table, and our host and hostess, the LaScalla's, were very gracious. However, they spoke almost no English and our trip experience leader had to do a lot of translating. This was another traditional Sicilian meal, all organic and vegetarian, featuring eggplant, tomatoes, olives, bread, pasta, and bottomless glasses of wine.

Our host, Marcelo, promised us a "surpise" at the end of the meal. So after dessert, we were led downstairs into a walk-out basement where a half dozen traditional Sicilian horse carts were stored. Our host's father was one of the last master cartwrights. 

He had made the wheels, including the fastening of the iron outer ring and the intricate carving of the spokes. Our host demonstrated the perfect balance of the cart that put less stress on the animal pulling it.

Though our host ran a pannini shop, and was not a cartwright himself, he had enough of his late father's antique tools, and sufficient skill, to demonstrate the blacksmithing, wood turning, and wood bending tasks necessary to put a cart together. Each cart was a work of art, with intricate carvings and paintings.

After this delightful home visit, we boarded our bus once again for another hour and a half of travel through agricultural countryside to Piazza Armerina. This is an "agritourismo" farm in the middle of nowhere. The charming old buildings have been transformed into a hotel, restaurant, and event center surrounded by gardens, vineyards, and orchards.

They made a big deal of the swimming pool here, but the water was much too cold. They also made a big deal of the hiking and mountain bike trails. So we and our travel companions, Craig Dorsay and Suzy Driver, set out for what the map said would be an easy 3k hike through the olive trees.

What we did not realize is that this area had recently experienced heavy rains, so our hike soon turned into a slog through the mud. Downed trees made it impossible to remain on the trail, and the surrounding fields were even more muddy, slippery, and steep. Our "one hour hike" took more like and hour and a half. We were drenched in sweat, and our shoes were caked with mud. When we got back to the Piazza Armerina, we spent the next hour getting cleaned up. It was more of an adventure than we bargained for.

We did, however, make it to dinner on time. Only when we reached the dining room did we realize what a business this place is doing! Our group was by no means the only guests. The room was packed with Italians, Germans, and probably others. In keeping with the "agritourismo" spirit, everything we ate was produced organically on site. It was more food than we could possibly eat. And once again, the wine flowed endlessly.

We retired to our room, a family suite that could sleep five, hoping that our clothes and shoes might be dry by morning.