Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs – Villa Aurea loop from Agrigento Centrale
Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs – Villa Aurea loop from Agrigento Centrale
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Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs – Villa Aurea loop from Agrigento Centrale
02:58
10.5km
220m
Hiking
Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: April 23, 2026
Waypoints
Start point
Train Station
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2.69 km
Viewpoint
Viewpoint
3.98 km
Temple of the Dioscuri (Valley of the Temples)
Highlight • Historical Site
The northernmost part of our sanctuary, west of the gate, is characterized by cult buildings, fences and numerous altars, built during the sixth century BC.
In the northernmost part, a small temple with three rooms can be seen, flanked on one side by a room with a square altar and on the other by a room with a circular altar and central opening.
In the middle area, there is a small temple with a single room accessible from the east side, next to which there is a small temple with three rooms, open to the north.
To the west of these buildings, there are two other small temples with an entrance hall, cell and a room reserved for the officiants of the cult: the northernmost one has a square altar in front of the entrance door and a well outside the south side.
Between these two small temples there is a large circular altar, with an internal cavity, and a square altar.
In the southernmost area of this area, there is the so-called temple of the Dioscuri, today one of the most representative ruins of the Valley of the Temples, the result of the partial reconstruction (the four columns on the north-west side), carried out by the Commission of Antiquities of the Sicily between 1836 and 1852, using architectural elements of various periods and origins.
This is the foundation of a Doric temple, datable to the second half of the 5th century BC, with six columns on the short sides and thirteen on the long ones, and divided inside into an entrance hall, a cell and a rear compartment.
The traditional denomination of the temple of the Dioscuri is only conventional and derives from the reference to a passage by the Greek poet Pindar, who refers - with regard to Akragas - to a cult and a festival in honor of the Dioscuri.
It is much more probable that the temple was dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, the titular divinities of the entire sacred area.
Source: parcodellavalledeitempli.it
Translated by Google •
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4.42 km
Temple of Olympian Zeus (Tempio di Giove Olimpico)
Highlight • Historical Site
According to the historian Diodorus Siculus, construction began immediately following the battle of Himera, the great victory of the Greek cities of Sicily over the Carthaginians, in 480 BC. Again, according to the historian, the construction of the temple was never completed, because it still had no roof at the time of the conquest of the city of Akragas by the Carthaginians in 406 BC.
The very original architectural building was placed on a gigantic rectangular platform, on which stood a base of five steps, the last of which was twice as high as the others, to form a sort of podium and isolate the temple from the surrounding environment .
The temple was enclosed by a wall enclosure, characterized on the outside by seven semi-columns of the Doric order on the short sides and fourteen on the long sides; to these corresponded, inside, as many rectangular semi-pillars. The hypothetical height of the semi-columns has been estimated at more than eighteen metres.
Outside, colossal figures of Giants (the Telamons), about eight meters high and caught in the act of supporting the entablature of the temple with the strength of their arms, were placed in the spaces between the semi-columns on shelves about eleven meters high.
Inside this very tall building - very similar to a fence - there was a completely original cell, as it had no roof, probably interpreted by Diodorus Siculus as a sign of the incompleteness of the construction. The coverage, in fact, was probably limited to the corridors around the cell.
The fronts were decorated to the east with sculptures depicting a struggle between the gods and the Giants (Gigantomachia) and to the west with the taking of Troy (Iliupersis).
The remains of the monumental rectangular altar are visible a short distance from the eastern front of the temple.
Source: parcodellavalledeitempli.it
Translated by Google •
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5.19 km
Fallen Icarus
Highlight • Monument
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5.35 km
View of the Temple of Concordia
Highlight • Historical Site
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5.44 km
Via Sacra and Necropolis, Valley of the Temples
Highlight (Segment) • Historical Site
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5.97 km
Temple of Juno, Valley of the Temples
Highlight • Historical Site
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6.29 km
Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs
Highlight • Historical Site
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7.13 km
Villa Aurea
Highlight • Historical Site
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10.5 km
End point
Train Station
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
5.57 km
3.99 km
515 m
400 m
Surfaces
4.20 km
4.20 km
839 m
746 m
228 m
167 m
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Elevation
Highest point (230 m)
Lowest point (50 m)
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Weather
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Monday 29 June
32°C
21°C
36 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 8.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
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