Area description for Holiday Home in Sicily

Porto Palo di Menfi

The blue flag is a distinction for crystal clear water, and for the last 11 years Porto Palo and the beautiful beaches of Menfi have obtained this distinction. The coast is a breathtaking scenery with wonderful sandy beaches, small coves, cliffs and rocks. The village of Menfi is a very attractive holiday resort, famous for its fine vines, where during the summer season many cultural events are organised for example the great wine event on the 1st weekend of July. The region has a very interesting, historical past with many cultural monuments: Selinunte, the ancient Greek town (14 km); Ciacca, the thermal bath (20 km); Sambuca, a town of Arabic origin (20 km north-east); the town of Mazara with its famous baroque churches (30 km west) from here you may reach the wonderful volcanic island of Pantelleria by fairy boat; the ancient Greek town of Eraclea Minoa (30 km); Agrigento with the valley of the temples (80 km), etc.. Porto Palo lies on a hillock at the upper part of the village Porto Palo.

Agrigento

Located on a plateau overlooking Sicily's southern coast, Agrigento was founded as Akragas around 582 BC by a group of colonists from Gela, who themselves were the immediate descendants of Greeks from Rhodes and Crete. The area was inhabited much earlier; a female skull (that of the "girl of Mandrascava") found near Cannatello is half a million years old. A Mesolithic village at Point Bianca, farther down the coast toward Montechiaro Castle, dates from 6000 BC. Akragas was renamed Agrigentum by the Romans, and Girgenti by the Saracens, only to be christened Agrigento in 1927, but the place is the same.

The medieval city of Agrigento is not without a certain charm. High in the historical center of the city, the Romanesque Gothic cathedral, built during the fourteenth century, still displays some of its medieval character, as does the thirteenth-century Church of San Nicola. Unfortunately, the Saracen fortress believed to have stood at Agrigento has not stood the test of time. The Greek temples, theatres and ruins, and even the archaeological museums, are located outside the city proper.

Akragas, named for the nearby river, flourished under Phalaris (570-554 BC), and developed further under Theron (488-471 BC), whose troops participated in the Battle of Himera in 480 BC, defeating the Carthaginians. Agrigento was destroyed several times during the Punic Wars, suffering particularly extensive damage during a siege by Roman forces in 261 BC, but always rebuilt. The Greek poet Pindar (518-438 BC) described Akragas as "the most beautiful city of the mortals." Akragas' most famous citizen was the philosopher and scientist Empedocles (490-430 BC).

In the Valley of the Temples are the ruins of numerous temples but also necropoli, houses, streets and everything else one would expect to find in an ancient city. There is a small amphitheatre, as well as several auditoria, and a fine archeological museum. Unfortunately, most of the temples at Agrigento are in ruins, with pieces strewn about, and several appear to have never even been completed. Part of the Temple of Juno, built around 450 BC, is still intact. Its style has been compared to that of the temples at Paestum, near Salerno. The Temple of Concord (named retroactively), built around 440 BC, is in far better condition, and at night the illuminated temple is a sight to behold. A number of telamons (large segmented stone columns in the form of human figures) have been preserved.

Agrigento's importance declined under the Byzantines and Saracens, who encouraged settlement of the medieval city (present-day Agrigento) several kilometers from the Valley of the Temples. The Normans, however, recognized its importance, and it was during the Norman rule that beautiful churches were constructed in and around the city.

Ancient Agrigento's architectural character seems more Greek than Roman, though the latter is certainly evident. What's missing are the thin bricks so typical of Roman sites like Solunto and Taormina. Despite its location virtually in the shadow of a modern city, the Valley of the Temples is surrounded by olive groves and almond orchards that render its ambience altogether natural, though a number of illegally-built houses mar the landscape. The almond blossom festival held in February is a spectacular event.

The ruins of a Roman villa are located at an archeological site a few kilometers up the coast from Porto Empedocle. Though Porto Empedocle itself is today little more than an ugly shipping town, there is a nice beach nearby. The birthplace of Luigi Pirandello, (1867-1937) a Nobel prize-winning author, is located in the tiny hamlet of Caos, where his house is a museum.

Sicily

Sicily is Italy's largest island and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It's also a geographical and political region of Italy, famed for its beautiful beaches, cuisine, and fascinating history.

Because of its strategic location, Sicily was invaded over the centuries by many armies, and was once the site of Roman, Greek and Phoenician colonies. For history-buffs and interested tourists, remnants of those cultures remain to this day.

Sicily's economy is based largely on agriculture, fishing, mining, and of course...tourism. Many visitors to the island use the dependable ferry service from the Italian mainland to Messina. Also there is ferry or hydrofoil service to Palermo from ports throughout the central Mediterranean