Page 123 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

SOUTHWESTERN SICIL Y  121

Early Christian Catacombs
The Valle dei Templi is famous for
its splendid monuments of the
Magna Graecia civilization, but it
also has early Christian ruins. The
Ipogei of Villa Igea (also known
as the Grotta di Frangipane),
between the Temple of Heracles
and the Temple of Concord, were
0 metres 200
cut out of the rock to house the
0 yards 200 bodies of the first Christians here.
A series of niches, closed off
by stone slabs, alternated with
The niches, hewn along the floors chapels that still bear traces of
and walls wall paintings.

Rock sanctuary
of Demeter

. Temple of Hera (5th century BC)
This well-preserved temple was restored in
Roman times. Note the northern colonnade
with its architrave.

KEY
1 Villa Igea (see inset).
2 Tomb of Theron (1st century BC)
3 Porta Aurea
. Temple of 4 Sanctuary of the Chthonic
Concord (5th Divinities (6th–5th century BC) was
century BC) a shrine dedicated to Demeter and
With its 34 columns, Persephone (also known as Kore),
this is one of the with altars and sacred precincts.
best preserved Doric 5 Giardino della Kolymbetra
temples in the is considered the most beautiful
world, partly thanks garden in Italy.
to alterations made
in the 4th century 6 The Hellenistic-Roman quarter
AD, when it became is all that remains of the large post-
a Christian basilica. Classical age settlement.
It was restored to 7 Line of fortifications
its original Classical
form in 1748.

120-121_EW_Sicily.indd 121 11/3/16 2:07 PM