Agrigento is a City on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece with population estimates in the range of 200,000 to 800,000 before 406 BC.
Agrigento 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 name it "Akragas".
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.
It is a major tourist center due to its extraordinary rich archaeological legacy. It also serves as an agricultural center for the surrounding region. Sulphur and potash were mined locally from Minoan times until the 1970s and were exported worldwide from the nearby harbor of Porto Empedocle. In 2010, the unemployment rate in Agrigento was 19.2%, almost twice the national average.
Agrigento has a special place among classical sites in the history of the ancient world because of the way in which its original site, typical of Greek colonial settlements, has been preserved, as well as the substantial remains of a group of buildings from an early period that were not overlain by later structures or converted to suit later tastes and cults.
- The great row of Doric temples is one of the most outstanding monuments of Greek art and culture.
- The archaeological area of Agrigento exhibits an important interchange of human values, being undoubtedly one of the leading cities in the Mediterranean region with its outstanding evidence of Greek influence.
- As one of the greatest cities of the ancient Mediterranean region, Agrigento is an extraordinary testament of Greek civilization in its exceptionally preserved condition.
- The temples in the area exemplify Greek architecture and re considered to be among the most extraordinary representations of Doric architecture in the world.
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