Agrigento

Agrigento (Latin, Agrigentum; Greek, Akragas), city in southern Sicily, capital of Agrigento Province, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is a tourist and an agricultural centre; manufactures include processed cement, sulphur, and furniture. The city has ruins of some 20 Doric temples (6th and 5th century bc) and an archaeological museum.

Agrigento was founded by Greeks from the city of Gela about 582 bc and became an important trading and cultural centre with a population of about 200,000. After 406 bc, when it was sacked by a force from Carthage, the city (then known as Akragas) declined in importance, although it remained a substantial town. In 262 bc it was incorporated into the Roman Empire and became known as Agrigentum. It was called Girgenti from the early Middle Ages until 1927, when the name was officially changed to Agrigento. The archaeological site of Agrigento was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Population (1990 estimate) 56,400.