Agrigento is a beautiful hillside city located on the southwestern coast of Sicily. It is known for the ruins of the ancient city of Akragas and especially for the Valley of the Temples, a vast archaeological site that houses numerous well-preserved Greek temples. On the outskirts of this modern city is also the Regional Archaeological Museum with beautiful artifacts, but today we will focus more on the charming churches of Agrigento.
In the history of Agrigento, many churches have been demolished, disappeared, and subsequently abandoned and deconsecrated, and several seismic events have threatened at different times the rich historical-artistic-religious heritage of the entire city. To mention two events, we talk about the earthquake of Val di Noto in 1693, which caused serious damage, and the Belice earthquake of 1968.
The favorable geographical position, together with the sumptuous Greek-Roman remains, makes the city’s port a crossroads of Arab, Norman, Swabian, Angevin, Aragonese, and even Spanish routes, the center of intense and particular commercial exchanges with the maritime areas of the entire Italian peninsula.
Landslides and collapses have often been caused by small earthquakes and also favored by friable material and the action of endogenous and exogenous agents, marking the fragile territory over time. Despite adversities and the succession of numerous dominations, there are several places of worship that have crossed the neglects of time.
To mention some, we can talk about the Church of San Biagio, the Sanctuary of San Calogero, the Co-Cathedral of Santa Croce, the Church of San Nicola, the Monastery and Church of Santo Spirito, the Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Greci, and the Cathedral of San Gerlando.
Let’s learn more about the church in Agrigento and all the Mass times.
Despite the recent chaotic urban development, the set of all the structures that have survived contributes to making beautiful Agrigento one of the most interesting museum-architectural-archaeological centers in all of Sicily and the Grand Tour, as well as one of the most sought-after destinations in global tourism.
Another very interesting aspect is that in 1997 some symbolic monuments and places of worship in the Valley of the Temples were declared World Heritage Sites and were therefore placed under the protection of UNESCO.
Let’s now talk about the Church of Santa Maria dei Greci, located in the historic center in the upper part, which is why it may escape the sight, and it would be a real shame. It is a small church, but the particularity is that it was built on top of a Greek temple, of which you can still see the steps of one side, descending a couple of meters below. With a ticket, you can also visit a photographic exhibition on Pirandello.
The Sanctuary of San Calogero, on the other hand, is a three-naved church whose interior decorations greatly resemble the Baroque style. As for the facade, we know that the statue of San Calogero stands out in a niche, with its beautiful characteristic stag.
The visiting hours of the churches are quite extensive as they can be visited every day from 8 in the morning to 7:30 in the afternoon. The important thing, as in all other churches, is that the attire to enter must be appropriate, always to maintain a certain form of respect.
