We’re on our second day in Italy and I think we’re already getting the hang of this world travel thing! Today we are journeying to the southeastern coast of Sicily to hang out in Siracusa for a day or two. But yesterday, we toured the ancient world of Agrigento… Here’s a little summary of that adventure!
After tasting some Italian breakfast, we boarded our private motor coach and took a short drive to the Valley of the Temples. Our tour guide, Giovanna (fluent in at least 4 different languages!) showed us around the site of four large temples dating back to around 500 BC. The first is traditionally known to have venerated Juno (or Hera in Greek). We sat as we listened to Giovanna explain the rituals surrounding this archaic spot and were shocked to discover that our seats were actually the ruins of a giant sacrificial altar! The second temple, traditionally associated with Concordia, was the most complete of the ruins we viewed. Giovanna even showed us a human skull buried in the dust and history of an area that has not yet been excavated! Then we walked to the Temple of Heracles and had a chance to explore the ruins on our own for a bit, before moving on to the Temple of Zeus. This final site, though the largest of the four temples, was in near complete ruin, but still sparked our interest as visitors to the ancient world frozen in time.
Giovanna also showed us a few natural “sculptures” that overlap the ancient and modern worlds: trees! Valley of the Temples is home to several olive trees that have survived since times of old. The descendants of these trees can be found all over Sicily, spanning the gap between past and present. Also in bloom during the winter are the beautiful almond trees dotting the entire valley. These must be related to the cherry trees we love back home in the South, with the same white and pink blossoms we see every spring! A festival celebrating the start of almond blooming season occurs in early February, so we came just in time to see the peak of the season! The valley also holds both male and female pistachio trees. Though out of season right now, Giovanna told us how the two species of the same tree need each other to survive. The male trees fertilize their female counterparts and don’t attract bugs, while the female trees produce fruit and keep the pistachio population afloat amidst the attacks of nature.
All in all we learned a lot about the history of Sicily yesterday! In addition, we had our first authentic Sicilian pizza experience and got to explore the city after lunch. We all agree that the four-course meals and obvious language barrier might take some getting used to… but so far, Italy has been treating us well! We’ll write more soon, when we can take our eyes off the beautiful Sicilian countryside! Thanks for reading and as always, comment below if you have questions or comments!
~Rachel
Italy Blog Team
2012
