Valle dei Templi and the Doric skyline of Agrigento

Valle dei Templi in Agrigento is a UNESCO World Heritage site on Sicily’s southern coast, shaped by a line of Doric temples on a sacred hill. Its best-known survivor is the Temple of Concordia, standing in a landscape of ancient ruins and fields.

Doric temples on a Sicilian ridge

The site covers the territory of the ancient polis, from the Rupe Atenea to the acropolis and the extramural necropolis. That broad setting gives Valle dei Templi its unusual mix of monumental architecture and open terrain, with the temple line visible across the ridge.

Agrigento began as a Greek colony in the sixth century BC and became one of the leading cities in the Mediterranean world. The surviving temples belong to that Greek past, and the World Heritage inscription from 1997 places the site among the major classical landscapes of EuropeWorld Heritage inscription.

The Temple of Concordia and its setting

The Temple of Concordia dates to around 430 BC and remains the site’s most recognisable monument. It is a Doric temple with six columns on each short side and thirteen along each long side, a pattern that gives the ruins their measured rhythmTemple of Concordia.

The temple later became a Christian basilica in 597. That later use left a layered historical trace, but the building still reads first as a Greek temple, with its columns, cella and porch surviving in the same architectural frameChristian basilica.

A landscape of ruins and open ground

The archaeological area includes excavated zones from the Hellenistic and Roman city, along with burial areas linked to early Christian inhabitants. That range makes Valle dei Templi more than a row of temples: it is a cross-section of Agrigento’s long urban historyHellenistic and Roman city.

Fields and orchards lie around much of the ancient area, and the temple ridge rises above them in clear relief. The result is a place where stone, earth and archaeology remain closely tied to the same long stretch of landfields and orchards.

Visiting Valle dei Templi: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The site lies on the southern coast of Sicily, close to Agrigento. It is reached through the city and into the archaeological park.
• The ground covers a broad ridge and includes open sections between the temples. Comfortable shoes suit the uneven terrain and the distances between monuments.
• The best-known structures are Greek temples, with the Temple of Concordia as the clearest Doric example. Excavated areas add Roman, Hellenistic and early Christian layers.
• The official language is Italian and the currency is the euro.

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Frequently asked questions about Valle dei Templi

Where is Valle dei Templi?

It is in Agrigento, on the southern coast of Sicily. The archaeological area stretches across the ridge above the ancient city.

What does a visit involve?

The main experience is walking among temples, open ground and excavated areas. The terrain is broad and uneven, so the site feels more like an archaeological landscape than a compact monument.

What makes Valle dei Templi distinctive?

The combination of Greek temples, later Christian reuse and a wide ancient cityscape gives it unusual depth. The Temple of Concordia remains the clearest single monument within that setting.