On arrival at Agrigento I thought I had dropped a bad
\nclanger. I had not booked thinking February should not
\npresent too much by way of problems. However the very first
\nthing I noticed in Agrigento were signs of an international
\ncarnival. It was indeed the end of a two-week international
\nfestival, ‘Mandolo in fiore’ [almond blossom]
\nbut I obtained a ground floor en-suite room at the very
\nfirst place I tried – at a very reasonable price!
\nThis was Concordia in the Piazza San Francesco. Another
\nplus mark for the Concordia is that its guests get a
\nreduction at the good restaurant next door, La
\nForchetta.<\/p>\n
I headed straight for the Valley of the Temples. This is
\nabout two and a half kilometres below the town and about
\nhalf way is the purpose built archaeological museum. I
\nheaded for the eastern temples. I don’t know why the
\nGreek settlers found it necessary or desirable to build so
\nmany Doric temples so close together – perhaps to
\navoid spite from jealous Gods? – but I am heartily
\nglad they did.. On the eastern side there are three
\nwonderful buildings, the Tempio de Ércole, the Tempio de
\nConcordia and, furthest away, the Tempio de Giunone. The
\none in by far the best state of repair – or
\nreconstruction in parts – is the middle one which
\napparently enjoyed a spell as a Christian church from about
\nthe sixth century. However I found the slightly wooded site
\nof the nearest to the road, the Tempio di Ércole
\ncontributed to making this a pretty alluring place. All the
\nway along the main path, there are empty tombs and other
\nminor remains on the left side [opposite the temples] and
\nthere is much to make it apparent that the festival of
\nalmond blossom is perfectly timed.<\/p>\n
The following morning the final procession of the
\nfestival took place. I took the chance of a quick wander
\naround the town itself. A set of steps led from almost
\nopposite my hotel up to the Via Atenea but the roads up on
\nthe other side were mainly unstepped, though very steep.
\nAlthough Agrigento is statistically one of the poorest
\ncities in Italy, Via Atenea itself gives no sign of this
\nand some of the shops are quite elegant. Eventually the
\nprocession set out and very spectacular it was. Some of the
\ncostumes were glorious and many of the little children
\nwatching were most attractively arrayed. I followed behind
\nto get a bus back down to the temples; no such luck –
\nthat’s where the procession was heading and the buses
\nhad accordingly stopped. I walked down, stopping at the
\nmuseum en route.<\/p>\n
This is a really excellent place. The British Museum in
\nLondon is the only place where I have seen a collection of
\nGreek vase to equal the ones there. There is a sort of
\nindoor courtyard and towering up above the height of the
\nfirst floor is a ‘telemone’ reassembled from
\npieces, a sort of column with a sculpture of a man holding
\nsomething up. It is HUGE! Anyway I headed on down for the
\ntemple area and there, where the bus had stopped,
\nimmediately under the Tempio di Ércole, they were setting
\nup a structure for each national delegation to perform in
\nan outdoor concert. I went to see the western temples
\nfirst. These are not anywhere near the same as the others,
\nmore ruined like a vast ancient historic demolition site
\nbut it was interesting after seeing the models in the
\nmuseum, to imagine just how vast the Tempio di Giove would
\nhave been, had it ever been completed. There is another
\ntelamone here, lying unattended and possibly seeming even
\nmore majestic for this reason.<\/p>\n
Later, tired and hungry I started the walk back up the
\nhill. I was far from beating any speed records but I made
\nit and settled down for a rest in my hotel before eating. I
\nwoke to the most fearsome bangs and realised that they were
\nfrom the festival’s final firework display. I simply
\nhad to watch and there was a space just along from the
\nhotel which gave the best view I have ever experienced of
\nsuch a display which was lighting up the sky from far below
\nnear the temples. Wow.<\/p>\n
I had noticed an interesting place to eat up a small
\nalley on the other side of the Via Atenea. This was La
\nCorte degli Sfizi in Cortile Contorni and I would recommend
\nit to anybody; I must admit to a definite weakness for
\nantipasti and the plate given here to help yourself to the
\nbuffet type spread meant that the first course was like a
\nfull meal. However the other courses were equally good. I
\nwas sorry to be leaving Agrigento but I knew I had seen its
\nbest and I never like to stay for an anti-climax. In the
\nmorning I took the bus west for Sciacca.<\/p>\n
David was a keen walker, particularly on mountains
\nbefore he developed serious heart problems in 1995. He has
\nnow adapted his holidays to what he is able to do and we
\nare presenting his account of 12 days in Sicily over this
\nand the coming months. Next episode – Sciacca,
\nCaltabellotta and Selinunte<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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