The Archaeological and Landscape Park of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento was established in 2000, after being added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997.
Akragas: The City of the Gods
Founded by colonists from Gela in 580 BCE, Akragas rose on a plateau facing south, known today as the Valley of the Temples. By the end of the 6th century BCE, the city was already distinguished by remarkable architectural artistry, including the construction of majestic Doric temples, the most imposing of which was the Olympieion, built under the tyranny of Theron to celebrate the victory over the Carthaginians at Himera (480 BCE).
The Temple of Concordia and the Temple of Juno
During the democratic period that followed the tyranny, the Temple of Concordia and the Temple of Juno were erected. These were the years in which the famous philosopher Empedocles lived, before the city’s destruction by the Carthaginians in 406 BCE.
Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antiquity Periods
After a new phase of growth under Timoleon (338–334 BCE), the city came under Roman rule in 210 BCE, taking the name Agrigentum. Traces of this period are visible in the forum, the gymnasium, and buildings such as the Oratory of Phalaris and the so-called Roman Temple, reconstructed during the Julio-Claudian era. The late antique necropolis, with open-air and rock-cut hypogeal tombs, remained in use until the early Christian period.