This site wants to tell the story of the progressive awareness that men and institutions took on the site of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento and its heritage, through the documents preserved in the State Archives of Agrigento.
The project
The Valley of Temples is an exceptional part of Italy’s monumental and landscape heritage that preserves the ruins of the ancient city of Akragas. Since 1997 the area is included in UNESCO’s World Heritage list and in 2015 the importance of the Park was reiterated by being included in the Statement of outstanding universal value. But the path to obtaining this acknowledgement by local communities and central authorities was by no means a short one.
This site has been set up to describe the gradual path towards awareness that Man and its Institutions had to travel with regard to this incredible treasure, thanks to the documents found in the Agrigento State Archive.
The State Archive, given its nature as a cultural institutions, is responsible for preserving the documentation produced by the State’s peripheral institutions, that is to say all those offices that are directly linked to ministries, and any documents produced by the State’s judicial and administrative bodies that are no longer required for operational purposes.
It therefore also holds information that over time have led to the introduction of measures to protect, safeguard and institute the values that govern our cultural heritage.
Visiting the Valley of the Temples
Three browsing options to discover the Valley of Temples and its monuments thanks to the many stories to be found in the Agrigento State Archive.
Choose your preferred browsing method to prepare your visit experience.
-
Itinerary in the Park
The history of some of the main monuments in the Park as described by the documents found in the Agrigento State Archive.
-
Discover the Park with Archi
Find out a few intriguing anecdotes about the Valley of Temples that Archi has unearthed by rummaging through the documents in the Agrigento State Archive.
Personaggio animato per percorso kids -
Accessible Mode
Access the itinerary in an optimised high-contrast format for persons with impaired sight.
Events over time
A chronological description of the main episodes, events and regulatory measures introduced as part of the history of the safeguarding and enhancement of the Valley of Temples, as established thanks to the documents and correspondence found in the Agrigento State Archive.
Digital Archive
In this section you can consult a selection of documents found in the Agrigento State Archive that have been digitally scanned. The most significant documents that enable the events surrounding the Valley of Temples to be reconstructed and have gradually led to an increased awareness of the exceptional historic, cultural and artistic value of the site and its need for protection.