Points of interest

The historic centre extends up the Colle di Girgenti hill; its main arteries are the Via Atenea and the nearby and panoramic Viale della Vittoria, with its views over the valley (Valley of the Temples) and the sea.  After this, you enter the maze of small streets, based on an Arab plan, which connect the oldest monuments.

Let’s visit the Cattedrale di San Gerlando  founded around the end of the 11th century by Bishop Gerlando. The cathedral is in Norman-Gothic style and is accessed by a wide, gentle staircase, flanked by a magnificent, unfinished 15th-century bell tower. The building houses the extremely precious Cathedral Treasury, which is particularly rich in works of art. You can climb the bell tower and admire the roofs of Girgenti from above. The cathedral’s historical archives contain a document as singular as it is mysterious: the letter of the devil, a 17th-century manuscript written in indecipherable characters and addressed to a nun, the Beata Corbera mentioned by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in his novel, The Leopard.

The Cathedral is for this reason also one of the literary stops on the Strada degli Scrittori which will take you on an exploration of undiscovered Sicily!

The Via di Santa Maria dei Greci leads to the small church of the same name, in the oldest quarter of the medieval city. Built in the 12th century, its foundations rest on the base of a Doric temple from the 5th century BC which some believe to be that of Athena on the acropolis of Akràgas. The church, with a small, elegant courtyard before it, has a 13th-century Norman-Arab doorway in its façade and beautiful single-light windows.

A few minutes away, the Abbazia di Santo Spirito complex, built in 1260, is composed of the church and the adjacent Cistercian monastery. The internal ceiling bears the painted heraldic coat of arms of the Chiaramonte family, as the complex was actually founded thanks to a donation from wife of Federico Chiaramonte, Marchisia Prefoglio. The adjacent monastery (or Badia Grande) dates back to 1290, and is embellished with a magnificent cloister with outstanding Gothic doors. The nuns here prepare delicious almond and pistachio pastries, according to a centuries-old recipe. You absolutely must try them!

The Contrada San Nicola, just outside the urban centre, is where you’ll find the Museo Archeologico Regionale di Agrigento, with its panoramic view over the Valley of the Temples. It illustrates the history of ancient Agrigento and its territory, from prehistory until its Hellenisation. The highlight of its rich collection of archaeological finds is the more than 7 metres-high telamon, the Ephebus of Agrigento. Next to the museum, the medieval  Chiesa di San Nicola houses the Phaedra sarcophagus, one of the greatest pieces of Roman sculpture in Sicily. Its lush garden is perfect for a break in the fresh air.

A visit to Agrigento cannot ignore the discovery of the Valley of the Temples. In an enchanted valley with flowering almond trees, there stands the most impressive monumental ensemble of Hellenic architecture in Sicily. In this mixture of man-made cultural environment and natural landscape lies all the charm of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This site is undoubtedly the most important vestige of ancient classical culture in Sicily. It comprises the temples of the gods, as well as the necropolis area and the extra-moenia sanctuaries.  Inside the valley, not far from the temple of the Dioscuri, don’t miss the Giardino della Kolymbethra  where you can breathe in the scent of the Mediterranean scrub. About 2,500 years ago, the tyrant Theron built a system of tunnels and hypogea designed to supply water to this small valley. The resulting large pool became a meeting place for the city’s inhabitants and provided entertainment for the rich. A century later it was buried and gave rise to a very fertile garden comparable, like a small garden of Eden.

This area is a precious example of Mediterranean scrub, and it’s full of citrus plants, pistachios, carob, walnuts, mulberries and pomegranates which still grow thanks to the ancient waterworks. This magical place is not infrequently the setting for events, concerts and exhibitions.

In the Caos district, a plateau overlooking the sea among olive trees and oaks houses the country house where Luigi Pirandello was born. The rooms, which look out over the countryside, house a vast collection of photographs, reviews and honours, first editions of books with autographed dedications, paintings of the author dedicated to him, and posters of the stagings of his most famous works in theatres around the world.