The Temple of Olympian Zeus dates from 480 BC, and was built to celebrate Agrigento’s victory over the Carthaginians.  The temple is now mostly in ruins.

A nearby display shows the visitors to the park how the columns were erected in ancient times.

The remains of the Temple of the Dioscuri, also known as the Temple of Castor and Pollux, is actually a reconstruction, which was done in the early 19th century, using pieces of stone found in the area.

A stairway led down into the Giardino della Kolymbethra, which is included in your ticket, but we chose to save that for another time, as we still had another temple to visit, in addition to the long walk back up to the city, and our apartment.

The archaeological park also contains the remains of ancient houses, tombs, and monuments.  These are scattered throughout the park, and each different path in the park leads to different interesting sites and ruins.

Il Giardino dei Giusti di Tutto Il Mondo, or the Garden of the Righteous of the World, can be found along the road that runs between the Temple of Concordia, and the Temple of Juno.  The garden consists of trees planted in honor of different individuals from around the world, who have fought against injustice, and for human rights.  Among those honored here are: Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone, both of whom where assassinated by the Mafia; Hans and Sophie Scholl, who fought against the Nazi regime; and many others.  I found the spot to be a very touching place, and thought it was extremely appropriate that these brave individuals were honored in a place of such historical and sacred importance.

Our last stop for this visit to the Valley of the Temples was the Temple of Juno Lacinia, which dates from 450 BC.  The temple is also known as the Temple of Hera Lacinia, as it was originally dedicated to the Greek goddess, Hera, before being dedicated to the goddess Juno, under Roman rule.

With that, our visit to the Valley of the Temples came to an end!

 

Next up: We spend our last day in Agrigento, exploring more of the old city!

 

Note: This blog is written in English and Spanish, and the author takes no responsibility for the quality of any other translations that may appear.  If you have enjoyed this post, please, check out our archives for more posts from Agrigento, as well as other Italian destinations.  Grazie!