2 Best Sights in Central Sicily and the Mediterranean Coast, Sicily

Splendidly set on a promontory above a long stretch of cliff-backed sandy beach that runs right down to Scala Dei Turchi, Eraclea Minoa was once an ancient Greek city. Today, archaeology enthusiasts will enjoy the path along the mostly buried circuit of its walls to get a sense of its strategic position above a fertile river valley that appealed to the west coast Greeks. Located approximately halfway between Selinunte and Agrigento, it was founded by the former but fought over by both for most of the 5th century BC. Its fortune barely improved over the following centuries: Eraclea’s position on the west coast made it a desirable target for the armies of Carthage. Warfare, landslides, and a propensity to use ancient sites as quarries for ready-cut stone mean that little is left of the city today, and mistakes have been made in attempts to preserve what does remain.

The perspex roof added to the theater in the 1960s created warm, damp conditions perfect for the growth of abundant weeds that further damaged the stone, and a "temporary" roof erected in the early 2000s is still in place, but severely damaged. That said, the site is atmospheric, especially in spring when covered with wildflowers. There is also a small museum, with lots of finds relating to everyday life and death in the town, including a broken pot with the fragment of someone’s name written on the side, several votive statuettes, and some beautifully decorated lidded pots (pyxis) for jewels or cosmetics found in graves.

The sandy limestone from this quarry was much prized by ancient Greek builders. Lacking the fossilized shells abundant in much local stone, it was a stronger and more resistant construction material, and consequently a natural choice for the temples of Selinunte. Nevertheless, quarrying the stone in the huge discs required for temple columns was clearly no easy task, and as you wander through and above the gorge, you come across several broken discs, including one that was abandoned, split, before it had been fully removed from the bare rock. Even without the historical interest, this is a lovely place for a quiet stroll through olives, asphodel, and wildflowers, although in low season the site is unmanned and used by goatherds, so keep an eye out for untethered dogs.