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Things to see in
Agrigento
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The Civic Museum in Piazza del Municipio houses medieval
and Renaissance sculptures and an art gallery with XIII and
XVIII century paintings, the most notable being ?Neptune and
Nymph? by Luca Giordano, a ?Madonna and Angels?
attributed to a follower of Vincenzo da Pavia and a Madonna and
Child XV century by a Sicilian artist.
Santo Spirito Abbey
was built in the l3th century and later restructured. The door
and rose window in the fa?de are medieval. The interior has a
ceiling by Giacomo Serpotta and a Madonna by a pupil of
Gagini. A side old Monastery is of medieval architecture, while
the cloisters are enhanced by several portals with chapter hall
made of lancet arches.
Agrigento
however is not mainly known for the town itself. The interest
instead focuses on the Grecian temples, which transport
the soul of the visitor to ancient Dionysian mysteries linked to
the love cults of Apollo and Aphrodite.
The
magnificent remains of Pindar's "most beautiful city of
mortals", situated on a breathtaking landscape facing the sea
and a series of Doric temples are considered the most
captivating and unique Greek remains outside Greece.
In
addition, ruins of a Roman villa are located at an
archeological site a few kilometers up the coast from Porto
Empedocle,
Agrigento
is also the birthplace of Luigi Pirandello, (1867-1937) a
Nobel prize-winning author and worth visiting is his house now a
museum.
Agriculture
is extremely important and the surrounding countryside is
dotted with trees growing olives, vines and almonds. There are
wheat fields, grape vines and citrus fruit trees planted right
down to the sea. Handcrafted articles also play an important
role in the local economy, especially regarding working with
cork, a
speciality
of this region, and include Sicilian characters in wood and
local musical instruments (ciarameddi, tamburelli, bummuli) that
are used particularly in folk groups.
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