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A bit of a shot in the dark coming to Sicily as we knew very little about this large island apart from Taormina which we had visited some years ago. We stayed in the southern coastal town of Sciacca but our main interest was in the temples of Segesta, Selinunte and Agrigento and these did not disappoint. The plastic covering the amphitheatre at Eraclea Minoa rather spoilt the effect and our quest to discover more about Sicilian wines wasn't too successful either!
The village of Taormina would be worth visiting on its own but the main attraction is the theatre built into the hillside by the Greeks in the third century B.C. It was rebuilt by the Romans towards the end of the first century A.D. and much of what remains is attributable to this rebuilding. Clear weather gives magnificent views of Etna, the Sicilian shore, and across the Ionian Sea to Calabria.
We were staying in the south of Sicily at Sciacca, but flew in to Palermo so decided to visit Segesta on the way. Getting the hire car out of the parking area was the first problem, someone having parked in front of the exit - in true Italian style we ignored all signs and drove out of the entrance! Finding the motorway was the next problem - we could see it OK but were unable to get onto it without the help of an airport official escort. Thereafter the road to Segesta was no problem at all, a straight run through to this magnificent temple isolated high above the valley.
This Doric temple lacks a roof but otherwise is remarkably complete- in fact little else was ever in place as the temple was never finished. Started in 424 B.C. construction was halted 8 years later when a dispute broke out with Selinus (Selinunte) in the south. Entrance to the temple site is L4000, tickets bought from a hut on a deserted patch of ground well away from the car park and shop/cafe.
The walk up to the temple is reasonably steep - it was an incredibly hot day when we visited here so perhaps we were deceived. The temple dwarfs the visitors who swarm all over it but if you wait until lunch time all of the coach parties miraculously disappear.
Below the temple is a shop and cafe and here we had out first taste of Sicilian wine; unfortunately this was of the local Marsala type which we had come across in Southern Italy and which I dislike intensely - very cheap though!
Sciacca is quite a large town and an active fishing port. The main town lies above the busy port area and has plenty of restaurants, cafes and ice cream shops. It makes quite a good base for visits to the major temple complexes. The ancient gateways into this walled town are still standing and the Piazza Scandaliato is the scene of a well-attended passegiatta every evening. Steep steps lead down to the port where there are more places to eat. We saw very little evidence of tourism here and enjoyed the atmosphere of this attractive, thriving, working town.
So good we came here twice - well, we were caught in a torrential downpour the first time! This site is a marvellously evocative place - the final destruction taking place when earthquakes toppled the large temples. The huge stones lie where they fell, most impressively at the eastern end of the site where the devastation can be viewed from the raised steps of the only temple which retains most of its columns - the Temple of Hera.
Entry is L.4000 via a brand new building at the car park. A short walk brings you to the eastern complex, a longer walk to the western end, or you can drive to another convenient car park. It looks like the area is being developed to cater better for tourists but the development is sensitive to the importance of the site and its situation.
Selinunte - founded in the late 7th century B.C. and the most western Greek settlement - was in constant feuding with its northern neighbour Segesta and sacked by the Carthaginians in 409 B.C. Refounded in 407 B.C. it never regained its former prominence and was destroyed in the First Punic War, the population moving to Marsala (250 B.C.) The earthquakes which saw the final destruction of the temples occurred some time between 400 A.D. and 700 A.D. The western part of the site - the Acropolis - was walled and has the remains of the earliest town as well as temples. The broad roadways speak of a prosperous community, confident in its strength, the magnificent temple ruins a sign of their devotion and reliance on their gods.
We visited the stone quarries at the Cave de Cusa where Selinunte sourced material for its buildings but didn't really find it very informative or evocative of the period.
We were a little disappointed by this site (entry fee), mainly beacause we didn't realise that the amphitheatre was covered in thick plastic - photographs come out very well and make it look like stone!
In fact, the site is interesting and occupies a spectacular position on a ridge high above a curving bay. There has been a settlement here for over 2500 years, the Greeks arriving in the sixth century B.C., and it was eventually abandoned probably some time toward the end of the first century B.C. The excavations of houses are quite fascinating - only one or two visible at this time but well-preserved.
The World War Two pill-box on the promintory is of interest also but beware the snakes which are said to infest this area!
This is probably the most well-known of the temple sites in Sicily. The ancient walled city of Akragas was founded by colonists from Gela in 582 B.C. between the two rivers Hypsas and Akragas. It consisted of a long temple ridge facing the sea and the city a little to the north-west backed by a second ridge to the north - the ancient acropolis - on which the modern town now stands. In 406 B.C. the Carthaginians plundered this wealthy city and burned its temples and, although it was later partly rebuilt, it never regained its former glory.
The ruins occupy two zones: the eastern zone on the ridge which is unenclosed, and an enclosed zone to the west where a charge is made for entry. The magnificent Doric temples on the ridge - known as the Valley of the Temples - must have been a wonder of their time and the full impact of the site is better appreciated from a distance south-east or north-west.
The first temple - also the oldest here - on the western end of the ridge is the Temple of Herakles, built at the end of the 6th century B.C.
Eight of its 38 columns were re-erected by the English owner of the nearby Villa Aurea in 1923. In some ways this is the most atmospheric of the temples - although the other two are much more complete, there is something rather grand about these isolated columns in a sea of rubble.
Early Christian catacombs line the road between the Temples of Herakles and Concord.
There is no doubt that the central temple on the ridge, the Temple of Concord, is the best preserved of the three. Built around 430 B.C. it was used as a church in the middle ages and the arches of the internal cella - the sacred home of the deity - date from this period.
The Temple of Juno stands on a precipice at the far eastern edge of the ridge; a few columns, wall fragments, the temple base and re-constructed altar all that remain.
The western zone lies across the road close to the car park and kiosks.
The ruined Temple of Zeus was the second largest temple of antiquity, second only to the Artemision at Ephesus. Begun about 480 B.C. it was never completed; damaged by the Carthaginians and earthquakes its remains are still an impressive site. Beside it lies a telemone - an eight metre high roof support carved in the shape of a man.
Further on stands the so-called Temple of Castor and Pollux - although re-constructed from disparate fragments it is an attractive ruin.