In March the four construction sites will start on the area of the temple of Olympian Jupiter, in the heart of the Valley of the Temples. It is one of the most important interventions of recent years for the Archaeological Park of Agrigento: it will be possible to correctly re-read the entire sacred area of the sanctuary, the path that led to the imposing altar of Jupiter and numerous finds of architectural decoration will also be exhibited. . The most spectacular intervention will certainly be that of the reassembly of the entablature (architrave, frieze and frame) supported by the telamons – 38 originally – and the museumization of the parts of the enormous statue that will be supported upright by a thin sheet of corten steel with shelves of a few millimeters: a true anti-seismic support, of the latest generation. The intervention will also guarantee a better conservation of the original elements of the telamon which will seem to romantically “rise” among the ruins of the Olympieion.
“At the moment the cultural heritage of Sicily is in turmoil. Archaeological parks and museums, forced to close their doors by anti-Covid measures, are working with the utmost commitment to prepare for the reopening with more welcoming environments and new projects and emotions – the regional councilor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian identity intervenes, Alberto Samonà -. The construction sites that affect the area of the temple of Olympian Jupiter in the Valley of the Temples and the enhancement of the Telamon, are an invitation to visit Agrigento and Sicily, to transmit to the world a history and a profound identity, which make our land unique. “.
Obviously, this is not the “lying” copy among the remains of the Temple of Olympian Jupiter, but the parts of another original telamon, found and reassembled on a relief by Heinz-Jurgen Beste of the Archaeological Institute of Rome which in turn has worked on the drawings of Pirro Marconi, the archaeologist who excavated the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento in the 1920s. The final word is therefore put on the controversy sparked by the news according to which the Archaeological Park was lifting the telamon-copy “to its feet” and not an original. The study of the architectural remains has told the site much better than in the past: among the many finds cataloged from scratch, more than 90 fragments have been found which, in size and shape, clearly belong to the sculptures of the temple, including blocks from at least eight different telamons. But the news that is attracting the interest of archaeologists from all over the world is not so much that concerning the spectacular and mammoth statue – the Atlas with its arms folded in support of the entablature of the temple -, but rather the entire project that involves the area of the temple of Olympian Jupiter. Which must have been wonderful, cited by historians as one of the greatest in the West, more impressive than the Parthenon.
The Olympieion was built in ancient Akràgas after the victory of Terone over the Carthaginians, in the battle of Himera in 480 BC: a real ex voto, a visual symbol of the tyrant’s power. The great Doric temple – over 56 meters wide by over 113 long by 6340 square meters, larger than those of the Temple G of Selinunte – in blocks of limestone, was a novelty for the time, for the different architectural solutions used, with semi-columns grooved (14 on the long sides and 7 on the short sides) almost twenty meters high, a man could comfortably fit in each groove.
According to Diodorus Siculus, the tympanum was decorated with scenes from the Gigantomachy and the Trojan War; it is always the historian who passes on the news that the temple was left unfinished, without cover. The telamons (almost 8 meters high) had to be about 11 meters above the floor, resting on shelves and with the torso anchored to the masonry. Historians are still not in agreement on their number, many think that the telamons should have embellished only the facade of the temple and not run along the entire length.
Today an attempt is being made to redesign the map of the Olympieion, which collapsed after an earthquake in 1401, and completely shattered in the eighteenth century when most of its limestone blocks were used to build the Porto Empedocle pier. Goethe himself described the remains of the sanctuary as “bones of a gigantic skeleton”. The telamon currently lying inside the cell of the temple is in fact a faithful copy of the first statue rebuilt on a design by Charles R. Cockrell by Raffaello Politi at the beginning of the 19th century, which is now preserved in the Archaeological Museum.
The archaeologist Pirro Marconi at the end of the 1920s had identified the remains of seven telamons; the campaign of studies and surveys of the Archaeological Park, which has been going on since 2005 – for the first three years in collaboration with the Germanic Institute of Rome, under the guidance of Heinz-Jurgen Beste – today detects at least eight statues.
Pending the opening of the four construction sites, the exact mapping of the temple has been completed (also by drone that gives a complete view of the area) and its most important architectural elements. The objective was that of a reliable reconstruction of the structure, but also its protection: it is a unique example that is not found in any other Mediterranean architecture. Other fragments of the sculptural relief of the tympanum have also been identified and drawn, in addition to those already published by Domenico Lo Faso, Duke of Serradifalco.
“The area deserves to be recovered and enhanced – explains the director of the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples, Roberto Sciarratta -, the public will soon be able to visit it in its entirety: the secondary entrances will be closed and you will be able to follow a single tour route which from the Olympieion will lead to the remains of the altar, freed from the boulders that collapsed during excavations in the 1920s, so as to regain the perception of the connection between altar and temple. Visitors will not stop at Concordia but will be encouraged to discover the whole hill of the Temples, up to the Kolymbetra basin ”.
The telamon, placed on a base, will be rebuilt in the north-eastern area of the temple, on a floor about 6 meters below the level of the walkway: a nice glance which, however, will not affect the entire vision of the area, nor other particularly important finds; such as the reconstruction of the frame of the temple, which will allow us to realize in a concrete way the dimensions of the sanctuary.
The project involves nine months of construction and should be completed within the year. It will be open: visitors, as soon as the Valley of the Temples reopens to the public, will be able to book and access the area following the work of the archaeologists live. The project is by Coopculture: expert guided tours will be possible to live a fantastic experience. And not only for fans, but also for schools, for undergraduates and interns, for anyone who wants to find out how to move in close contact with history.