Agrigento - Valley of Temples Sicily - Sicily holidays

A trip to Agrigento, birthplace of the playwright Luigi Pirandello, includes some real architectural treasures like the 14th-century Abbey of Santo Spirito, with its monastery and 11th-century Norman-Gothic cathedral whose treasury holds a relic of the Ark and the famous Roman sarcophagus of Phaedra.

Don’t miss the nearby Roman Hellenistic quarter, which houses the remains of ancient patrician villas and some perfectly preserved mosaics.

Archeology lovers will certainly want to visit the Valley of the Temples, the largest archeological park in the world, covering over 1,300 hectares beyond the gates of Agrigento and a lasting testimony to the history of the ancient Greeks in Italy. It includes the ruins of ten doric temples, three sanctuaries and numerous necropoli. Take in the historic coastline on one of the lovely beaches at Porto Empedocle and admire the impressive Scala dei Turchi (Turkish steps), a rocky white cliff that often appears in the Montalbano novels of Andrea Camilleri.