The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

in the autonomous island region of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, situated on its south-western coast. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free municipal consortium of Agrigento. It has an area of , and a total population of 474,493. There are 43

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

s ( it, link=no, comuni) in the province.

History and location

It is surrounded by Province of Palermo in the north,

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

in the west,

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

in the south and Caltanissetta in the east. Gela inhabitants founded the province in 6th century B.C. as Akragas. The province was destroyed by the Carthage in 406 B.C. but was later ruled by the Romans, Goths, Byzantines and Arabs. The Arabs rebuilt several parts of the province. Several ancient Doric temples were constructed during the 6th and 5th century B.C. for the purpose of worshiping Hercules, Olympian Jupiter, Juno, Castor, Pollux and Demeter. They are located in the Valley of Temples (Italian: ''Valle dei Templi''). The ancient temples and other architectural structures were built using the stones of the hills near Capo San Marco.

Places

Here below are listed the towns of the province with more than 10,000 inhabitants: *

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

(58,273); * Sciacca (40,068); * Licata (36,113); * Canicattì (35,530); * Favara (31,751); *

Palma di Montechiaro Palma di Montechiaro ( scn, Parma di Muntichiaru) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy. Many Greek archaeological findings have been found near the town. Formerly known as Palma, in 1863, Montechiaro ...

(22,262); * Ribera (18,492); *

Porto Empedocle Porto Empedocle ( scn, 'a Marina) is a town and '' comune'' in Italy on the coast of the Strait of Sicily, administratively part of the province of Agrigento. It was named after Empedocles, a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of t ...

(16,300); *

Raffadali Raffadali is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region of Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. Geography The commune's territory covers an area of around 1.617 hectares ...

(12,550); *

Menfi Menfi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. The town lies some from the south coast of Sicily, between the rivers Belic ...

(12,262); *

Ravanusa Ravanusa ( Sicilian: ''Rivinusa'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about east of Agrigento. Ravanusa is near the Monte Saraceno archaeological s ...

(11,108). Agrigento is the birthplace of the noted writer

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

and the philosopher

Empedocles Empedocles (; grc-gre, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; , 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for originating the cosmogonic theory of the ...

. According to the government records the number of unemployed people is about 17% of the total labour force. The province faces the

Channel of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

in the south and is known for its beaches. The beaches of Torre Salsa have been designated as natural reserves and are protected due to their environmental importance.

Wine production

The province is well known for its vineyards and wines. The total areas covered by vineyards in 1984 was almost triple to that in 1949. During this period

Marsala Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...

based wine merchants used the grapes produced in the province to produce

Marsala wine Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected D ...

. In 1984 the local government passed a law which regulated this practice. Around three-quarters of the Sicilian land devoted to growing Fiano grapes is in the province. Some of the important municipalities known for their vineyards include Sambuca di Sicilia, Menfi and Santa Margherita di Belice.

Transportation

The road network in the province comprises 540 km. of street roads, 1,000 km. of provincial roads, 260 km. of communal roads and 56 km. of regional roads. 55% of the total rail network is suitable for electric trains.

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control