Let the tour of the temples begin!

After a very rich breakfast, full of energy and ready to discover the history of our island, take your car and start the second day of your tour through the ancient temples of western Sicily! The very first stop for you is Segesta! City founded by the Elimi, an ancient people of Sicily, located in the north-western part of the island, the ancient Segesta rises on Mount Barbaro, in the municipality of Calatafimi Segesta, a few kilometers from the beautiful Castellammare del Golfo. Today you will visit the Segesta Archaeological Park (click for the official brochure) which, inside, preserves the Doric style temple and the Hellenistic theater for a part excavated in the rock of the hill. Archaeological excavations over time have found a Hellenistic-Roman town and a medieval village. Listen the suggested izi.TRAVEL audioguide: it was made by an archaeologist and he wanted to represent the felling of slowly walking to get close to the temple!

In Sicily, in addition to the wonderful fresh fish, you can also enjoy excellent meat and other typical dishes of the rustic cuisine of this fantastic island; for this reason I recommend that you tickle your palates at the Tenute Margana farmhouse. The choice of dishes and typical products, cooked according to the ancient recipes of the Sicilian culinary tradition, is among the widest: fresh hand-rolled pasta topped with typical sauces; second courses of wild boar, lamb, hare, sheep, pork and of course the kings of the Sicilian sweets, the cannoli but also delicious desserts such as cassata and other specialties. This restaurant also satisfies those who do not like meat with vegetable dishes. You can savor their tasty and abundant lunches lulled by an atmosphere of total relaxation, in contact with the nature of the nearby Segesta nature reserve. From here you can admire the Egadi islands, thus feeding your soul with the beauties of the place. The farmhouse is located 5 km from the Temple of Segesta and 15 km from the Zingaro Nature Reserve, in a wooded environment bordering the Segesta Park, at about 450 m above sea level and only 10 km from the sea; so, in case you decide to change your plan, you can take advantage and go on an excursion to the mountains and mountain bikes, because the farm puts them at your disposal for free!

Selinunte was an Ancient Greek city located on the south-western coast of Sicily, in the province of Trapani; today it represents the largest archaeological park in Europe. The ruins of the city are located on the territory of the municipality of Castelvetrano, near the mouth of the Belice river. It was destroyed in 409 BC by the Carthaginians and it became a little Punic settlement. An evocative place of the myth and grandeur of the ancient history of the land of Sicily. Absolutely a must on your trip!

Enjoy a walk among the numerous temples, including the temple of Hera, the only one well preserved but partially rebuilt between 1956 and 1959. Your walk will be inside a wonderful place, a garden, which still contains sarcophagi, vases and amphorae. To visit absolutely the Casa del Viaggiatore with the Antiques Museum, with numerous archaeological finds. I also recommend that you get to the Cusa quarries, about 10 km from the temple, from which the tuff blocks that were used to build the temples of the city were extracted for about 150 years. With the outbreak of the war between Selinunte and the Carthaginians and the consequent destruction of the city, the quarries were abandoned by men and by time: it is possible, in fact, to still see half-excavated building stone blocks. Here is a suggested audiotour to discover the temples. If, in the meantime, you have some children with you, I suggest to listen to this audioguide about Temples and Metopes!

I'm here to introduce you to this magical and fascinating place. Do you know where the Selinuntini took the material to build their temples? Here at Cave of Cusa! The Cave are unique in the world! Of course now you can't hear the echo of chisels, which repeatedly hit the stone, and you don't see all those people, who were going back and forth, up and down, to organize the removal and the transport of big blocks. If the sight of the ruins of the great Greek town of Selinunte impressed you, you would wonder how it was possible that more than 2500 years ago lots of enormous buildings were created. That's why it is also important an excursion to these quarries about 11 km far from Selinunte: here you will understand how such great works of antiquity arose. The extraction site was really great: they simultaneously worked numerous column blocks and extracted the capitals, bred some herds of oxen to transport the material from the quarry to the construction site of the great temple. Imagine how much confusion reigned here! Everything was going regularly until the Carthaginians of Hannibal in 409 BC attacked us, over 2,400 years ago the work in the quarries and in the construction site of the great temple were interrupted and they destroyed Selinunte. 62 blocks and a capital remained  as they were, to testify that they were abandoned, from day to day or even from moment to moment, when the work was in full swing.

After having visited Selinunte and the Cusa Quarries, I suggest ho to check in and have a little rest before dinner in Il Pescatore guesthouse. It offers its guests room services such as air conditioning and free Wi-Fi; reception 24 hours on 24 and makes your visit pleasant thanks to the great availability of the staff. You can have access to free private parking nearby.

Did you get some rest? Now prepare your palates to taste the personalized and original recipes of the Chef of the La Bettola restaurant, in Mazara del Vallo! After having walked a lot, today, it won't be a problem to take the car, turn on the radio with good music and fill your eyes with the wonder that the panorama is offering you on the way to the restaurant. Here fish predominates in the menus, offered to customers every day. The daily fish offered is of a great quality, served by efficient and friendly staff; excellent selection of wines and the guide in choosing them. Dispassionate advice? The fish couscous that doesn't need to add another word!

Another day has come to an end and your bags are more and more full of dreams and beauty. Now you just have to enjoy the well-deserved relaxation after a long walk in the myth.