Agrigento--Sicily’s Antique City: Arrival in Agrigento and Becoming Acquainted with the Antiquated City

Monday, August 24, 2026:

Agrigento, Sicily’s Antique City

Arrival in Agrigento and Becoming Acquainted with the Antiquated City

Today we said Arrivederci to Palermo and embarked on the second part of our Sicilian Exploration: this time, headed to Agrigento. But first, upon waking, we showered, dressed, packed our bags and had our last breakfast in il Pachetto Charme e Design B&B in Palermo: It was toast with honey, Nutella and cherry jam, honey yoghurt and coffee. I made us sandwiches with the cheese and cold cuts provided and with that, we had an Italian guest at our B&B call a taxi for us to Central Station (for 20 Euros).

It took us a while to find the exact spot for boarding our bus to Agrigento, but luckily, we had arrived at the station at least half an hour early and remained unstressed. When we did find the spot, at the side of the massive Central Station, we boarded it together with about a dozen other passengers and were on our way. It took us three and a half hours to get there and we passed by uniformly boring, dry and very undulating landscape before the city made an appearance. It is built entirely on a hill (which I did not expect), and led to us using staircases that snake up and down the length of this place to get you from one tier to the next—each tier punctuated with a piazza or square. As it turned out, our Liola B&B is located on the topmost one—to get to the happening city center (at the bottom), you need to descend steep flights of stairs (it reminded me a bit of Positano on the Amalfi Coast—but I was then at least 20 years younger and not riddled with lower back and knee issues)!

Arrival at Agrigento:

We were fortunate to have our landlord from our B and B, an Italian named Lorenzo, speak fluent French. Thank God for my French—I was able to communicate effortlessly with him. He had told me that he would arrive to pick us up at the bus stop when we alighted at Agrigento—but, of course, he was nowhere to be seen. When I called him, he said he would be there in five minutes. This gave me a chance to leave Llew standing with our luggage as I went about five floors down a massive marble staircase inside the train station, to try and find the Ticket Office to buy our tickets for Ragusa where we will be traveling the day after tomorrow. I was able to find a clerk who spoke very good English and she guided me through the process of reaching Ragusa (which was far from easy). It involves almost a seven hour journey, one bus, a two hour layover wait and then a train! I am not looking forward to it

When I took the elevator and reached the main concourse, I found Llew in conversation with a man who turned out to be Alfonso—it appears that we had alighted at the wrong stop—the train station. We needed to go one stop further to the bus station—but we did not know that there was another stop ahead; we assumed this was the last stop as a bunch of people were alighting here. Anyway, Alfonso whisked us off in his little car and took us uphill to his Liola B&B which is right at the top of Old Town and right opposite the Duomo (or Cathedral.

Getting to Know Liola B and B:/

Liola B and Bturned out to be a charming place. It is beautifully decorated with saffron as its main color in a warm Provencal country cottage style. We have a massive double bed and a single one in our room with a painted armoire, a desk, a little round table and two chairs. On the round table, is a little glass bottle with a very sweet liqueur. The en suite bathroom is in the same color scheme with delightful tile work. After we stashed our baggage inside, Alfonso put me through a thorough drill, all in French, explaining every aspect of his home (the dining area—so quaint and alluring—is down one narrow flight of spiral stairs). This is the breakfast room and it is where we found a fridge, a water cooler and a kitchenette which is available for our use. He gave me maps, explained everything to us, while Llew got on to the wifi/p> He also took our order for breakfast tomorrow from a very impressive menu that offers everything to us from scrambled eggs and prosciutto to sweet pastries, yogurt, fruit and beverages. It will be quite a magnificent breakfast tomorrow for sure. Finally, he offered, after breakfast, to drive us to the biggest attraction of all in Agrigento, the Valley of the Temples—however, we will have to find our own way back on the bus and he gave me a detailed explanation. He also told me that it was possible to get a taxi to bring us up the hill if we are right down and I was glad he did because there was no way I could climb at least 10-12 storeys to get up to the top at the end of another long day.

When he left, we changed into more comfortable clothing. The heat was at its most intense—it was about 2.00 pm and we decided to stay indoors until at least 5.00 pm when we would venture out. Accordingly, we had a nap and then left our B&B at 5.00 pm after being well rested to begin our exploration of Agrigento at the Cathedral (Duomo) of St. Gerland which happened to be exactly across the road from where we were located. Amazing.

A Word About Agrigento:

Agrigento is probably one of the most interesting parts of Sicily for many reasons: Being in the Mediterranean, Sicily sits at the crossroads of all maritime activity from the beginning of Western civilization: the Greeks, then the Romans, the Etruscans, Arabs, Normans and Spanish have settled here, leaving their mark upon the city. It has its origin in the year 582 BC when the Greeks settled here, built the incredible Valley of the Temples (which we shall explore tomorrow) and named it Akragas. They were followed by the Romans who arrived here during the Punic Wars in 210 BC and gave it the name Agrigentum. From this name, we get the present-day Italian name of Agrigento. Once Christianity came to the island, a constructing frenzy ensued as churches representing the various architectural styles of the centuries, were built. In the 18th century, powerfully wealthy families used their money to build and decorate churches in the Baroque style. The best part is that many of them were built on the foundations of early pagan Greek and Roman churches—excavations into their bases have unearthed entire settlements that lie beneath.

Beginning our Sightseeing in the Cathedral of St. Gerland:

We climbed the stairs to the main entrance of the Cathedral of St. Gerland (also called the Duomo) where we were expected to pay 7 Euros per head to tour the premises. I was given free entry with my Met ID card. Once inside, we climbed up one of the bell towers (about 50 steps) and went through really narrow stone stairwells to arrive at a chapel dedicated to a nun, Maria Tommasi, whose brother was a bishop. She, a medieval mystic, had reported that she had been instructed to write down a thick journal under instruction from the devil. Her journal, the thickest book I have ever seen, is on display in this room. Yes, it is certainly mysterious but that is why these women (like Hildegarde of Bingen and Sr. Julian of Norwich) were called Mystics. I had taken a graduate doctoral course at St. John’s University in New York at one time which had introduced me to the writing of these mystical women—so I do not find this occurrence completely bizarre.

We then climbed a few more steps to arrive at a look out balcony that offered us wonderful views of the Agrigento countryside sweeping all the way down to the sea. We took some pictures here and then climbed up higher to arrive at the point from which we could admire the timbered (wooden) ceiling that was completely painted in Medieval times. To see it from that angle was awesome, plus just behind us was the more modern stained glass round window (executed in 2005) which cast beautiful, jeweled reflections on the columns and pillars below in the nave of the church.

We then made our way down to the main level and began our exploration of the church. Because it is so old and has its original in Medieval times, it was added to, over the years, and one can see the changing face of decorative sacred interiors. One wall, for instance, is covered with 18th and 19th century mortuary sculptures (similar to the ones in St. Thomas’ Cathedral in Bombay). In a little niche, is a gallery devoted to the four sarcophagi, dating from Greek times, that are marble coffins whose sides were often covered with deep bas relief sculpture. The most striking one here tells the tragic Greek myth of Hippolyta and Phaedra in such a well-preserved manner as to be breath-taking. A smaller sarcophagus presents a bust of the person buried within together with a row of cherubs wearing laurel wreaths. These came to the Cathedral in 2001 through the local Bishop—they were probably in a museum prior to this time. A true treasure in this space I recall seeing a similarly impressive example of this kind in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. It really was amazing.

Our tour around the Cathedral continued with a visit into its various side chapels and finally our arrival at the main altar, a Baroque confection of exuberantly painted ceiling depicting Paradiso (or Heaven), stucco figures and cherubs superimposed on the painting and all sorts of decorative gilded borders, etc. The ceiling in the front part of the church is Baroque and features bosses as well as a splendid, gilded Hapsburg eagle as it was created during the reign of this powerful Austrian dynasty. It truly is amazing when one tours European churches how much there is to see and take in and understand in these venues. With this venue done, we could move on next door to the Mudria or Diocesan Museum along the same street—but since it was already 6.30 and all the places for which we had paid the entry fee closed at 6.45 pm, we decided to go first to the Church of St. Mary of the Greeks, down about twenty stairs, and to keep the museum for tomorrow as our ticket is valid tomorrow as well.

Exploring the Church of St Mary of the Greeks:

This is one of the most unusual churches I have ever seen. It was built, in the 5th century, entirely on the foundation of a pagan Greek Temple to Athena. The ancient massive foundation stones are easily evident, as soon as you enter the little garden, immediately giving the impression of the site’s antiquity. Inside, in the church, which is rather plain, but faced entirely in orche sandstone, you walk on a glass floor that enables you to look deep beneath into the former Temple of Athena. It is remarkable that they have retained the original temple although they have built on top of it. Here too, one can climb up to the bell tower for rooftop views of the Old Town. There is also a antiquarium (small museum) which houses archeological finds from the site as well as a black and white photographic exhibition that delineates the history of this church and its more modern construction activity/p>

By the time we reached downstairs again, the church was closing as it was 6.45 pm. We decided to follow the map Alfonso had given us and go downhill to the Church of Saint Francis, get some dinner (hopefully in one of the restaurants he had recommended) and then return by taxi upstairs. That was exactly what we did, except that the map was very sketchy (an artist’s impression really) that made it very difficult for us to find the place. Eventually, when we did reach the spot, the church had closed for the day. Agrigento is filled with churches from the ancient to the 19th century and one has to make choices about which ones to explore. Searching for the church, however, took us to another look out point, where we could rest our feet and take in some stirring views of the plains lying below us. It also enabled us to see Old Town pretty well for as we turned each corner, there was something architecturally exciting to look at and photograph. Also, by the time twilight made its appearance, tourists and locals had started to come out for the evening and the streets leading up to the Piazza Purgatorio was buzzing. There we found that the door to the Church of San Lorenzo was open—so inside we went.

Exploring the Church of San Lorenzo:

This is one of the most important and most beautiful churches in Agrigento. From the outside, it looks like any other Baroque-style European church but once inside, it is glorious. The church was constructed and decorated inside through the wealth of the families of this town. It is characterized by life size stucco sculptures by Guiseppe and Giacomo Serpotta (part of what is called the Serpottian School) who have created a range of them to represent various human virtues: Fortitude, Patience, Temperance, etc. There is also a magnificent Crucifix Chapel with real gold decorating the periphery and the most moving portrayal of the crucified Christ within.

They had a special Sacred Art exhibition inside as the church is no longer used for religious worship. Of the many paintings inside, at the altar is the Shroud of Agrigento—a long piece of linen fabric that is said to have been one of the cloths used to wrap Jesus after the Deposition. The entire item is exhibited at the altar and it is stunning in terms of the visual impressions that have been created on it through time. Using scientific methods, they have been able to identify areas where the crown of thorns, the blood shod wounds of the scourging, the mark left by the carrying of the cross on the shoulders, the wound in the side, the impressions of the nails on the palm and the ankle, etc. are all evident. I found it both fascinating then deeply moving. For me, this was definitely the highlight of a day in which we saw so many artistic treasures and stirring sights that it is hard to pick one.

Once we were out of this church (for it closed at 8.00 pm), we went out in search of dinner and eventually decided to eat at a small side alley place called Il Vincolo where the prices were very reasonable, the location charming and the number of patrons quite encouraging. As we’d had pizza last night, we decided to have pasta today and I chose the Linguine con Sarde (as I had made it, a few months ago for my Book Club meeting and wanted to find out how it compared). It was really delicious but very different from mine. Llew chose spaghetti with shrimp and asparagus and we also chose a very nice contorno dish (side dish) of caponata which was also lovely eaten with bread. The meal was really wonderful and we did justice to it plus took home a small doggy bag.

Getting Back by Taxi:

I requested the waiter at the restaurant to call us a taxi and he did. For 15 euros, we were carried up the hill in comfort and style, much to my relief, and dropped right outside our B&B as I simply could not face the thoughts of climbing up all those flights of stairs! We were tired and sleepy but had enjoyed a very satisfying day. We looked forward to exploring the Valley of the Temples tomorrow.

Until tomorrow, ciao…