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39,
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2007-08-08 05:08:37
Description: Agrigento, presented by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.AlessandroSorbello.com is part of the Sensational Sicily http://www.SensationalSicily.com Series of Films showcase one of the most beautiful (More) Agrigento, presented by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.AlessandroSorbello.com is part of the Sensational Sicily http://www.SensationalSicily.com Series of Films showcase one of the most beautiful regions on earth, rich in history, Sicily formed part of the cradle of civilization. This film is focused on the Archaeological Area of Agrigento, Sicily, Italy.
This project is born from a collaboration between the Region of Sicily http://www.regione.sicilia.it/, The Italian Chamber of Commerce, New Realm Media http://www.newrealm.com.au and Alessandro Sorbello Productions.
Agrigento (Girgenti in Sicilian) is a town on the southern coast of Sicily, http://www.accommodationsicily.com/ Italy, capital of the province of Agrigento. The city is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragras (also Acragas, Agrigentum in Latin, Kerkent in Arabic), one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia.
History
The city was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the Hypsas and the Akragas, and a ridge to the north offering a degree of
natural fortification. Its establishment took place around 582-580 BC and is attributed to Greek colonists from Gela, who named it Akragas. The meaning of
the word is unclear, though the stock commonplace referred to an eponymous legendary founder, an Akragante, apparently no more than a retrospective etiology of an obscure name.
Akragas grew rapidly, becoming one of the richest and most famous of the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia. It came to prominence under the sixth-century
tyrants Phalaris and Theron, and became a democracy after the overthrow of Theron's son Thrasydaeus. Although the city remained neutral in the conflict between Athens and Syracuse, its democracy was overthrown when the city was sacked by the Carthaginians in 406 BC. Akragas never fully recovered its former status, though it revived to some extent under Timoleon in the latter part of the fourth century.
Didrachm, 490-483 BC
The city was sacked by both the Romans and the Carthaginians in the third century— the Romans in 262 BCE and the Carthaginians in 255 BC.
It suffered badly during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) when both Rome and Carthage fought to control it. The Romans eventually captured Akragas in 210 and renamed it Agrigentum, although it remained a largely Greek-speaking community for centuries thereafter. It became prosperous again under Roman rule and its inhabitants received full Roman citizenship following the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the city passed into the hands of the Byzantine Empire. During this period the inhabitants of Agrigentum largely abandoned the lower parts of the city and moved up to the former acropolis, at the top of the hill. The reasons for this move are unclear but were probably related to the destructive coastal raids of the Saracens, Berbers and other peoples around this time. In 828 CE the Saracens captured the diminished remnant of the city and renamed it Kerkent in Arabic; it was thus Sicilianized as "Girgenti". It retained this name until 1927, when Mussolini's government
reintroduced an Italianized version of the Latin name.
Agrigento was captured by the Normans under Count Roger I in 1087, who established a Latin bishopric there. The population declined during much of the medieval period but revived somewhat after the 18th century. In 1860, the inhabitants enthusiastically supported Giuseppe Garibaldi in his campaign to unify
Italy (the Risorgimento). The city suffered a number of destructive bombing raids during the Second World War.
Economy
Agrigento is a major tourist center due to its extraordinarily rich archaeological legacy. It also serves as an agricultural centre for the surrounding region. Sulphur and potash have been mined locally since Roman times and are exported from the nearby harbour of Porto Empedocle (named after the philosopher Empedocles who lived in ancient Akragas). However, it is one of the poorest towns in Italy on a per capita income basis and has a long-standing problem with organised crime, particularly involving the Mafia and the smuggling of illegal drugs.
Main sights
Ancient Akragas covers a huge area— much of which is still unexcavated today— but is exemplified by the famous Valle dei Templi ("Valley of the Temples", a misnomer, as it is a ridge, rather than a valley). This comprises a large sacred area on the south side of the ancient city where seven monumental Greek temples in the Doric style were constructed during the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Now excavated and partially restored, they constitute some of the largest and best preserved ancient Greek buildings outside of Greece itself. They are listed as a World Heritage Site.
The best preserved of the temples are two very similar buildings traditionally attributed to the goddesses Juno Lacinia and Concordia (though archaeologists
believe this attribution to be incorrect). The latter temple is remarkably intact, due to its having been converted into a Christian church in 597 CE. Both were constructed to a peripteral hexastyle design. The area around the "Temple of Concordia" was later re-used by early Christians as a catacomb, with tombs hewn out of the rocky cliffs and outcrops.
Temple of the Dioscuri.The other temples are much more fragmentary, having been toppled by earthquakes long ago and quarried for their stones. The largest by
far is the Temple of Olympian Zeus, built to commemorate the Battle of Himera in 480 BCE: it is believed to have been the largest Doric temple ever built.
Although it was apparently used, it appears never to have been completed; construction was abandoned after the Cathaginian invasion of 406 BCE. The remains of the temple were extensively quarried in the eighteenth century to build the jetties of Porto Empedocle. Temples dedicated to Hephaestus, Heracles and Asclepius were also constructed in the sacred area, which includes a sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone (formerly known as the Temple of Castor and Pollux); the marks of the fires set by the Carthaginians in 406 BCE can still be seen on the sanctuary's stones.
Many other Hellenistic and Roman sites can be found in and around the town. These include a pre-Hellenic cave sanctuary near a Temple of Demeter, over which the Church of San Biagio was built. A late Hellenistic funerary monument erroneously labelled the "Tomb of Theron" is situated just outside the sacred area, and a first century CE heroon (heroic shrine) adjoins the thirteenth-century Church of San Nicola a short distance to the north. A sizeable area of the Greco-Roman city has also been excavated, and several classical necropolises and quarries are still extant.
Much of present-day Agrigento is modern but it still retains a number of medieval and Baroque buildings. These include the fourteenth century cathedral and the thirteenth century Church of Santa Maria dei Greci ("Our Lady of the Greeks"), again standing on the site of an ancient Greek temple (hence the name).
The town also has a notable archaeological museum displaying finds from the ancient city.
Famous inhabitants
Luigi Pirandello, dramatist. Born at Contrada Kaos near Agrigento. http://www.greatitalians.com/pirandello.htm
Courtesy of Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrigento
Options for Accommodation in Agrigento can be found on this link http://www.accommodationsicily.com/Italy/Sicily/Agrigento/All_Accommodation.htm
Agrigento (Italian: Provincia di Agrigento) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Agrigento.
It has an area of 3,042 km², and a total population of 448,053 (2001). There are 43 comunes (Italian: comuni) in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Agrigento.
The most important cities are Sciacca, Canicatti', Favara, Licata and Porto Empedocle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Agrigento
The List World Heritage Listing of the Archaeological Area of Agrigento, Italy - Province of Agrigento, Sicily. N37 17 23 E13 35 36
Date of Inscription: 1997
Brief Description - Founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C., Agrigento became one of the leading cities in the Mediterranean world. Its supremacy and pride are demonstrated by the remains of the magnificent Doric temples that dominate the ancient town, much of which still lies intact under today's fields and orchards. Selected excavated areas throw light on the later Hellenistic and Roman town and the burial practices of its early Christian inhabitants.
Justification for Inscription
The Committee decided to inscribe this site on the basis of criteria (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), considering that Agrigento was one of the greatest cities of the ancient Mediterranean world, and it has been preserved in an exceptionally intact condition. Its great row of Doric temples is one of the most outstanding monuments of Greek art and culture.
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=831
The following is a list of the 43 comuni of the Province of Agrigento, Sicily, in Italy, with number of inhabitants.
Agrigento 59,031
Alessandria della Rocca 3,412
Aragona 9,902
Bivona 4,116
Burgio 3,031
Calamonaci 1,468
Caltabellotta 4,311
Camastra 2,133
Cammarata 6,416
Campobello di Licata 10,647
Canicattì 31,801
Casteltermini 8,726
Castrofilippo 3,170
Cattolica Eraclea 4,736
Cianciana 3,866
Comitini 956
Favara 33,666
Grotte 6,119
Joppolo Giancaxio 1,240
Lampedusa e Linosa 6,066
Licata 38,812
Lucca Sicula 2,045
Menfi 12,934
Montallegro 2,639
Montevago 3,032
Naro 8,710
Palma di Montechiaro 23,808
Porto Empedocle 17,077
Racalmuto 9,642
Raffadali 13,457
Ravanusa 13,695
Realmonte 4,528
Ribera 19,723
Sambuca di Sicilia 6,367
San Biagio Platani 3,689
San Giovanni Gemini 8,102
Santa Elisabetta 2,906
Santa Margherita di Belice 6,647
Sant'Angelo Muxaro 1,619
Santo Stefano Quisquina 5,310
Sciacca 40,854
Siculiana 4,707
Villafranca Sicula (Less) Channel: youtube
4,
01:40,
2009-05-09 12:51:21
Description: NEWS: MAY 1-8. 642 TAMILS KILLED, 812 INJURED in SRI LANKA. DEMONIC sinhalese ARMY IS MASSACRING HINDUS IN VANNI. (LTTE TAMIL TIGERS). OM.
Channel: youtube
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