Monday evening, June 26, we picked up our rental car so that we could do some grocery shopping before leaving the next morning on our road trip. When we arrived at the huge shopping mall, the parking lot was almost deserted except for the employees inside. It is said that Italy is a �soccer mad� nation, and we believe it. At that time everyone was glued to their TV or radio either at home or in a bar listening to the game. Even the post office closed early. If Italy won this game it meant that they were headed to the World Cup quarter finals. Just as we finished our shopping Italy won and total pandemonium took place. We got caught in a huge traffic jam with motor scooters everywhere, all weaving in and out of the slow moving traffic, with huge Italian flags flying from the back of their scooters. Everyone was honking. It made for difficult driving, but what excitement! (Note: On July 9, just after we arrived in Greece, Italy won the World Cup. We can only imagine all the excitement at that time throughout all of Italy. We ourselves were excited for them.)
Tuesday morning, June 27, we left on our two day road trip. We first drove west to the Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) in Agrigento. Originally five Doric temples had stood along the ridge of the hill, all built around the 5th century BC. Now only two were worth observing, but with a little imagination it was easy to visualize the impact that these five temples must have once made, visible to all around. The best preserved of the two was the Temple of Concordia as it had been converted into a Christian church in the 6th century AD. The Temple of Hera (Juno), the other temple, was located at the highest point along the ridge. Here it was easy to imagine people bringing sacrifices up the hill to this temple�s sacrificial altar. Presently both these temples were undergoing restoration. At the other end of the archeological site where the Temple of Zeus (Jupiter) formerly stood was a copy of a gigantic �Telamon�, one of many colossal statues that once stood between the columns of this massive temple. The temple itself was now in ruins. |
