Sicily / Agrigento / Temples valley / Concorde temple

Temple of the Concorde

Agrigento Temples' Valley

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Built around 430 BC, it is one of the Hellenic temples best preserved. It was converted into a Christian basilica in the VIth AC. That's why he reached us in a so good condition, its structure having been reinforced.

Restored in 1748, one can see the arcades practiced in the originals walls of the Cella.
One does not know whose it was dedicated, its name temple of the Concorde (means Harmony) was chosen by his restorer Tommaso Fazello.

From the architectural point of view, the manufacturers had recourse to various and commons "optics fakings" (trompe-l'oeil) : the columns are thinned upwards to make them illusorily larger, they are reinflated a little near the 2/3 to avoid a bad impression; the columns in edges of the frontages are slightly tilted towards the interior to eliminate the divergence effect. Thus an observer located in front at a precise distance perceives it perfectly right.