Agrigento – a small village full of history and charm
Thanks to Erasmus+ Program we, three young people from Romania, (Silvia, Andrei and Dana) had the possibility to visit Agrigento in November, where the weather is so good, although for the locals it means winter. Erasmus+ together with the Sicilian Organization FreeMinds in Action, organized a training course about Project Management including the Refugees problems.
The medieval town is perched on two hills, Girgenti to the west, and Rock of Athens to the east, with excellent sea views. On 25th of November we had the possibility to visit this beautiful village and to discover a history full of mystery and details.
We have started with the most beautiful valley of Agrigento, the Temple Valley (Valle dei Templi) a huge archaeological site, a very important tourist destination, a wonder of antiquity and a UNESCO Patrimony. It consists of three distinct parts: an ancient, medieval one in which people retreated after the ancient area was destroyed and a modern, new one, where the locality has developed in our day.
The ruins of four temples, together with slave houses, a theater, a cemetery and a museum are the main attractions. A place full of history, magical panoramas and a lot of walking. At night, the entire valley is superb, the temples are enlightened magically, and it’s seems like a fairytale.
Than we got in a bus, and visited another major tourist attraction, called the Scala dei Turchi, a natural phenomenon of astonishing beauty, consisting of the existence of high white limestone rocks arranged in the form of stairs near the sea. The pure-white rocks contrasts perfectly with the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea. We climbed the steps of these cliffs, “modeled” by the waters and winds, and we could admire the beautiful views. Perhaps it is even more spectacular at sunset. Two courageous girls from our group took a bath in the sea, and told that it was perfect.
For us this was a wonderful opportunity to find out more about the Sicilian culture and together with the workshop from the afternoon about the financial planning we have gained new skills and developed the old ones. We are looking forward to the intercultural night where we will find out more about other cultures.
Silvia, Andrei and Dana