Day 7, April 9th, Easter: Today we visited the historic Valley of Temples, enjoyed a delicious lunch hosted by Marcello and Rita, learned more about Sicilian carts, and traveled into the countryside to stay for the night.
The Temple of Hera aka Juno was partly destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages and was damaged during the Carthaginian invasion of 406 BC. Across the valley lies the City of Agrigento on the hill above the Valley of Temples.
Temple della Concodia is one of the best preserved Greek temples in existence, this temple has survived almost entirely intact since its construction on 430 BC.
The almonds were starting on trees near the temples.
Original city wall in the Valley of Temples, the arch is a tomb that was carved out to place the dead. There are Roman marble statues found in the Valley of Temples.
Temple of Hercules, has only eight of the original columns still standing.
Our host, Marcello La Scala explained how his father made the famous Sicilian carts, and showing us the carts he has in his home museum.
Sicilian carts are a tradition and a local folklore icon. Known all over the world, they originated in Sicily around the 18th century. In ancient times, they were built by carradori (coach builders), skilled local craftsmen, and used to transport all kinds of goods.
There are stories painted on the carts. It took five craftsmen to make a cart: two wood carvers, one blacksmith, one painter, and one manager. They could turn out a cart in a month.
Each cart was labeled by who crafted it and where they were from.
Peter with tried out his Marcello’s lathe.
We stayed at Vecchia Masseria Agriturismo on Sunday night, located outside of Agrigento and finally got out luggage.