Agira

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Agira Aggira (Sicilian)
Comune
Comune di Agira
Location of Agira
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	94011
Dialing code	0935
Patron saint	St. Philip of Agira
Saint day	July 2
Website	Official website

Agira (Italian:

It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").^[3] The modern city overlies the ancient one of which few traces remain.

History

Agira stands on the site of the ancient

Diodorus Siculus was born here^[6] and credits Heracles with the foundation of sacred precincts of Iolaus and of Geryon, and the creation of a nearby lake. In the mid-fifth century, Agyrium was the first Sicilian city to mint bronze coinage in the Greek fashion of Magna Graecia.

In the 4th c. BC it was ruled by

In around 287 BC Phintias of Agrigentum conquered the city, but after he had shown himself a bloodthirsty murderer, Agyrion was the first city to revolt after which he changed his ways to a more humane rule.^[8]

The Romans called it Agyrium. Cicero described it thus:^[9]

"And first be briefed on the illustrious and faithful people of Agyrium. Agyrium is among the first as an honest city in Sicily, whose men were, before this commissioner came, rich and among the best farmers."

Under Roman control it underwent a decline like other Sicilian cities as a result of the misrule of

One of the only two Greek inscriptions^[10] from Agyrium marks the final resting-place of a "Diodorus the son of Apollonius."

In 1063, it was taken by the

• Chiesa Madre ("Mother Church"): Norman church dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore
• Santa Margherita: Norman church founded in 13th century, but rebuilt over centuries, is the largest in the diocese, with thirteen altars
• San Filippo: church with central nave and two aisles, and contains paintings by Olivo Sozzi
• Sant'Antonio da Padova:16th-century church
• Sant'Antonio Abate: 16th-century church containing fourteen small paintings of the Venetian school
• San Salvatore: church with Gothic bell-tower.

There is also an Arab–Byzantine castle, later rebuilt by the Hohenstaufen, of which two towers still stand.

The Pozzillo artificial lake lies near the town in a eucalyptus wood, and provides a habitat for a large variety of birds, and a way-stage for migrators. Another reserve – the Riserva di Piano della Corte – has been created in the Erean Mountains, and the Mediterranean forest of the Vallone di Piano della Corte is scheduled to become another reserve. The area also contains sulphur springs.

Economy

The town is a centre of agriculture: productions include cereals, almonds, olives, and grapes. The large areas of pasture also make possible the breeding of cattle, sheep, and horses.

Transportation

There is a railway station south of the town.

International relations

Agira is

• Żebbuġ, Malta

References

External links

• Official website (in Italian)
• Agira — from La Sicilia in dettaglio — Sicily in full detail
• Gallery of photographs of Agira
• Richard Stillwell, ed. Princeton Encyclopædia of Classical Sites, 1976: "Agyrion (Agira), Sicily"
• History of Agira