Day 12 - Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples

Temple of Concordia

Today started out overcast with rain in the forecast but it was our day to see the Greek ruins called Valley of the Temples so we headed out with our rain gear. There are seven temples located there, in various states of ruin, the oldest dating back to the 5th century BCE. The Temple of Concordia is one of the best preserved Greek structures anywhere in the world.

Temple of Heracles

The Temple of Heracles is less well preserved but it still has one wall of columns standing. The name "valley" is a bit of a misnomer as the temples are located on a ridge far below the town of Agrigento but high above the coastline which is about 2 km to the west. It drizzled on us the whole time we were there but nothing serious, although we could hear thunder in the distance.

We drove into the town of Porto Empedocle for something to eat for lunch on the way back to  our hotel. While we were there, the owner heard that we are Americans and he came out and we chatted away in Italian for a long while. He told me that families of Francis Ford Coppola, Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro and Frank Sinatra are all from Agrigento. I have no idea if it is true or not but it is a good story. I told him we are fans of Montalbano and showed him the pictures we took of his house in Punta Secca and the set in Scicli and he loved them. The author of the Montalbano books is from Porto Empedocle and he told me the house where was born is right by the church (a block away). He asked if we had been to Memphis and I said yes. He is a big fan of Elvis and pretty soon he, Jeanne and I were singing Elvis songs. He had a good voice and we really belted them out. We closed with "My Way" by Sinatra and neither of us remembered many of the words but that didn't stop us. At the end we all kissed Italian style (he, his wife, Jeanne and I) and we headed back to our car in a downpour. It is strange how the smallest of experiences can become some of the best memories.