Living with an Italian family is such a pleasure; I have had the honor of tasting Mama Piazza home made gnocchi and all sorts of delicious pastas. On the third day, I wasn’t sure whether I can still put on my bikinis I was wearing the first day here. Living in a village like Realmonte, has given me a glimpse of what Sicilian livelihood is about. In the morning, I was woken up by some loud calling from the street…. It reminds me of my childhood in HK, the man selling –‘airplane olives’, well, similar sorta calling, though he was selling households stuff. Also, fruit-sellers and fishmongers all parked their van right at your doorstep, and they won’t stop if they haven’t got anything fresh for Mama Piazza. So no need to go shopping for these items. No matter how comfortable I am in the house, as a tourist, I still need to do the looking around bits. So, off I go with Paola to this famous archeological site and renowned attraction: ‘Valle dei Templi’ - Valley of the temples.

Agrigento is a city burst with tall buildings and with highways tangling their way around. However if you go to the top of the hill, where the market is, you can see the panorama of the sea, and this archeological site. The temples are lined up, not in a valley they have named it, but on a long cliff. Paola took me immediately to the one she loves the most, which is situated in the most western side of the site, the Temple of Castor and Pollux. No matter how picturesque this temple maybe, the pieces of architrave from the ruins were placed on the remaining 4 columns in 1836 without any historical significance. Next to it, The Temple of Olympic Zeus has been totally ruined by earthquakes, although by walking around, you can still imagine its massiveness and magnificence from its area and the size of its columns. A copy of the stone giants which is 7.61 meters high; called Telamons or Atlantes, once stood between those huge columns functioned as load-bearing supports for the structure.

We crossed a heavy-traffic road and entered into the other area with 3 temples lining up with one on the top of the cliff. Temple of Hercules is the oldest temple in the valley. It has been burnt in 406 B.C. and repaired later by the Romans, though a subsiquent earthquake has left it ruined. Out of 38 columns, 8 had been put back in the 1923. You can see the columns almost from any directions. After a short climb along the road, we came to this best-preserved temple: Temple of Concord. Erected around 430 B.C. it has simple ratios and the proportions are perfect. One can imagine the coat of marble stucco and bright colors in which it once had been dressed. From this temple to the easternmost one – Temple of Juno Lacina, you can see the catacombs along the road, which serves as another good spots for photographs. I thought it was a long walk for the temple of Concord to the Temple of Juna Lacina, and I really thought I wasn’t gonna make it, however, the catacombs has drawn my attention, and eventually, I reached to the top of the hill. Temple of Juno Lacina is dedicated to the protector of matrimony and childbirth. Some of the columns were re-enacted in early 1900s. From here, you can have a good panorama of the sea in the south and the city in the north. ( Sicily Part 4 - Sciacca )