Ancient Sicily & the Valley of Temples

During the 4th Century BC, Sicily was the "new Greece" of the west. Our journey will take us to the various cultural centers that dotted the island, such as Syracuse, Agrigento, with the exquisite Valley of the Temples, and Selinus, present-day Selenunte.

The Valle dei Templi (English: Valley of the Temples, Sicilian: Vaddi di li Tempri) is an archaeological site in Agrigento (ancient Greek Akragas), Sicily, southern Italy. It is one of the most outstanding examples of Greater Greece art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as well as a national monument of Italy. The area was included in the UNESCO Heritage Site list in 1997. Much of the excavation and restoration of the temples was due to the efforts of archaeologist Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta (1783--1863), who was the Duke of Serradifalco from 1809 through 1812. The archaeological park and landscape of the Valley of the Temples is the largest archaeological site in the world with 1,300 hectares.

During the 4th Century BC, Sicily was the "new Greece" of the west. Our journey will take us to the various cultural centers that dotted the island, such as Syracuse, Agrigento, with the exquisite Valley of the Temples, and Selinus, present-day Selenunte.