Thursday, May 22, 2025
Arrivederci to Trapani
Another day. Another destination.
The countryside we drove through was covered with olive and almond trees, and so many other plants. Sicily is such a fertile country and produces so many crops. Plants that were brought back to Europe from the Americas that are thriving in Sicily include: tomatoes, potatoes, chocolate!, and prickly pear cactus, among others.
But they've been growing grapes and making wine for millennia, so vineyards were everywhere.
As the bus hummed along, I tried to capture the beauty of the green Sicilian countryside, but was a bit foiled by the tinted windows. This time we were headed southeast towards Agrigento.
The former name of the city was Girgenti, but Mussolini changed the name to sound "more Latin." He wanted Italy to resemble the Roman Empire. Agrigento means People of the Land.
For mystery fans ... Andrea Camillieri, author of the Inspector Montalbano books, was from Agrigento. Or at least from the Agrigento region. Apparently his popularity means several towns in Sicily try to claim him as their own.
Another day, another UNESCO heritage site: the Valley of the Temples
So, did Aeneus and his Troy-destroying Greeks actually land in Sicily? Let's ask the Professore!
Our local guide for Agrigento is Michele (mee-kay-leh, not Michelle) - aka "Il Professore."
And the answer is: Certainly the Greeks came to Sicily and tried to expand their domain. Was Aeneus really leading them? That's much less certain.
Agrigento used to much larger, including the famous Valley of the Temples, but the city eventually shrank and now they are separated. The
Museum we were visiting was built on the remains of a monastery.
It's thought that no people lived in the region of Agrigento until the Greeks arrived in Sicily, 8th century BC. It was the Bronze Age, and they may have been traveling to different islands and lands looking for tin. They also founded Marsilia (Marseilles) in southern France. The remains of an ancient Mycenean (people who became Greek) trading post were found on the coast near today's Agrigento. The original Sikani (native peoples) absorbed Mycenean culture, which continued to exist in Sicily even after it was destroyed in Greece.
After this brief but complicated history of Sicily, Il Professore began showing us artifacts in the museum while telling us Greek myths depicted on pottery and other objects.
This one tells the story of Alcaeus the poet and Sappho. 
This famous piece has the earliest depiction of the "trinacria," the 3-legged symbol on the flag of Sicily.
Trinacria means "island with the triangular shape."
We saw lots more pottery (OMG, professore...) including Dionysus the wine god. Michele said ivy leaves and pine cones were both symbols of Dionysus. That may explain the pinecones of welcome everywhere in Sicily.
This unusual white pot tells the story of Perseus and Andromeda. I liked the way we could see the original sketch, even when the paint had worn away.
A whole collection of lion-faced drainspouts lined one wall. They were meant to be scary, but a few seemed almost friendly.
Rich clients paid for objects to be made for them in Greece, then shipped to Sicily so these nobles and successful families could display their wealth.
This model of the original Temple of Zeus at Agrigento is in the museum. It was the largest Doric temple built in the world, and was designed to be larger than the one in Olympus.
If you look closely you can see what look like tiny men holding up the roof. In reality, each one was the size of a huge giant.
The giants represented the Titans defeated by Zeus, and were meant to remind everyone of the power of Zeus.
It's interesting that the faces of the giants showed other races known to Greeks at the time but considered barbarians, such as Africans and Asians. These heads on display were at least 4 feet tall.
Not many large sculptures were found with the temple ruins, because the Romans came to Sicily and took most of them. Sounds similar to what happened in Greece, if I remember correctly.
Here's one last artifact I thought was cool:
It's a clay horse baby bottle.
After the museum tour, we had a brain break for lunch.
Then it was time to climb the hill (or take the bus) to see the BIG artifacts.
This was our first glimpse of the Temple of Juno (Roman name for Hera, the wife of Zeus in Greek mythology)
Il professore wisely found shade for his talks, just like this group. Standing in the direct sun was MUCH hotter.
A decorated side! Always include flowers.
Michele even had an umbrella to create his own shade.
Hera's temple was in the best condition, after reconstruction work that started in 1718, kicking off the Neoclassical period - around the same time Washington, DC was built.
This temple was less well preserved. I think it's the Temple of Heracles. Notice the vertical grooves in the columns. It won't be the last time we see them.
The most impressive temple came at the end, when we were dragging and unfortunately less interested. This one is the Temple of Concordia.
Most temple ruins no longer include the inner columns or walls, although most temples had them originally. Here, we can see how the inner chambers were built.
Mary is doing her part to reconstruct a fallen column.
After the temples, we continued walking through the Necropolis.
Necropolis means "city of the dead" in Greek.
Christians used Greek word Kemetery, or sleeping place.
Some graves were carved out of the soft sandstone of the city walls.
This area was the
Garden of the Righteous of the World, dedicated to the brave Sicilians and Italians who saved the lives of others, or otherwise worked for human rights.
One last post with the this city wall, and our lessons for the day were over. Thank you to the Professore!
The Valley of the Temples was fascinating, but it had been a long day of learning, and it was time for refreshment!
Our hotel La Terrazza had a lovely - you guessed it - terrace.
Andrea planned a tour group meeting in the garden with a view of the the Valley of the Temples, but alas... it rained. So we ended up in the cozy bar where most of the group had gathered anyway for the aforementioned refreshments, and Andrea made us play the Name Game (staple activity on Rick Steves trips that makes some tour members very nervous). Then it was off to a fabulous Sicilian dinner.
Before turning out the lights, we did our best to take pictures of the temples at night. See those bright lights, far, far away? Temples!
- Christine
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