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PAPIACOMUNICARE |
| idee e progetti di comunicazione |
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| Educational Tour & Workshop Sicily 21-25 september 2004 Culture: tourism without seasons |
Province of AGRIGENTO |
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AGRIGENTO Agrigento occupies a magnificent panoramic position on a high plateau dominated to the north by two hills, which constitutes the Acropolis (the Rupe Atenea and the adjacent Colle di Girgenti), and ends to the south in the wonderful Hill of Temples, so called because on it, apart from other minor items, there stand the remains of 7 temples out of the original 10 or more, all erected in the course of a century (5th century BC ) in the original Doric style. |
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Felicitous circumstances of time and place allowed the city to have an exceptionally prosperous development. Thus Pindar in about 490 BC sings of it as "the most beautiful city of mortal men". A visit to Agrigento is a sensational plunge into the glorious past of Greek civilization in Sicily: built of limestone tufa, the temples provide a particularly impressive sight at dawn, and even more so at sunset when they are turned a warm shade of gold. A visit to Agrigento and the beautiful temples is a remarkable experience during the whole year but especially at the beginning of spring: as the road winds its way to the town, the almond trees gradually become more numerous. |
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When they are in flower (January and February), their blossom
appears like little clouds of white against the green fields and the bare earth
of the hillsides; it is precisely at this time of year that the town comes to
life and puts on its Sunday best for the Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore (Almond Blossom
Festival). Visitors approaching Agrigento from the coast will be treated to a
glorious sight, particularly if arriving at sunset when the houses along the crest
of the hill are coloured with pastel hues and the Temple of Heracles dominates
the foreground from on high, illuminated by the last rays of sunlight. The pleasure of the visit continues in the town centre, along the lovely Via Atenea with its the many elegant palazzos, beautiful churches and interesting works of art: the 16C Church of San Calogero, dedicated to a saint who is particularly venerated in this area, Palazzo Celauro, where Goethe sojourned when on his Grand Tour, the 14C Conventino Chiaramontano, the Town Hall, formerly a Dominican monastery (17C), the Church of San Lorenzo (18C), which contains stuccoes by Giacomo Serpotta and a painting by Guido Reni, the Santo Spirito Abbey with its annexed convent (13C), the Biblioteca Lucchesiana, founded in 1765 by Bishop Lucchesi Palli, which contains more than 45,000 ancient books and manuscripts, the Cathedral, which still bears traces of its Norman origin, and the Regional Archaeological Museum, with its superb collection of Attic vases, artefacts, votive statues, theatrical masks and other terracotta figures found during the excavations of the temples and various other sites in the province. |
| SCIACCA Sciacca is a lovely town showing a clear Arab impress, with striking white houses and buildings grouped on a flank of the Monte Kronio overlooking the sea. It is an outstanding fishing and thermal resort, drawings tens of thousands of tourists every year. Its majolica objects, available at the numerous pottery shops in town, are most renowned. Thermal treatment in this area dates back to ancient times, though a proper thermal plant was only established in the middle of the 19th century, in the so-called Valle dei Bagni (Valley of Baths), currently under restoration. The new thermal plant is a large complex built in 1938 in art nouveau style, right in front of the sea and surrounded by a nice park. The sulphurous water which rises naturally is used for mud and bath treatments, (recommended for arthritis) and inhalation therapies, while the thermal springs are suitable for dermatological treatments. |
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PELAGIE ISLANDS The Pelagie Islands lie almost in the middle of the Sicilian Channel: for their position they are considered the southern most part of Italian territory. They are in fact far closer to Africa than to Sicily and most of their charm and beauty is due precisely to their position. Lampedusa, the biggest of the three (20 sq km), is part of the African continent, to which it is firmly fixed. It is a calcareous island, has an elongated form stretching from east to west, and deep and dramatic coasts not easy to land on, with impressive turquoise water. Linosa (just 5.4 sq km) is a pleasant volcanic island - hence its dark-grey colour - with three lofty cones that show a striking contrast with the intense blue of the sky. The volcanoes, now extinct, give the island a fairly sinister look. The only town consists of a collection of lovely pastel-coloured houses grouped around the island's small harbour. Tourists can enjoy excursions to the peaks or fascinating boating tours. Lampione (180 m wide) is completely deserted; there is just a lighthouse that can be reached along a tiny path. It is the reign of birds that can nest here without anyone to disturb them, but it is also the paradise of scuba divers, who, here, can even meet the terrible grey shark |
| ERACLEA MINA This historic town was a colony of Selinunte from the 6 century BC on, and its life was disturbed by the clashes between Selinunte and Agrigento, and between the Romans and the Carthaginians. Recent excavations have brought to light the outline of the boundary wall, a residential area, a sanctuary, tomb equipment and a beautiful theatre, built in about the 3rd century BC almost entirely in extremely friable blocks of marl-stone: it looks out towards the sea, as is the rule in nearly all Sicilian coastal theatres. |
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