Roman-Hellenistic Quarter

At a glance. This extraordinary urban hub between the museum and the Valley of the Temples reveals daily life in Roman Agrigentum. Did you know it houses an ancient taberna with a wine counter, unique mosaics, and the ruins of the Hellenistic Theater? Find it on the map and read more below!

Good to know. In 210 BC, the history of Akragas merged into the broader saga of ancient Rome. Polybius, who visited Agrigentum in the 2nd century BC, was captivated by the extraordinary beauty of the city, renowned for its regular urban grid and elegant residences. Today, in the area facing the Archaeological Museum, visitors can admire the Hellenistic-Roman Quarter: a central hub of the ancient city, enriched by dwellings with refined mosaics.

Having developed between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, the settlement features various housing types: Hellenistic, Pompeian, and corridor-style. The remains of residences with frescoed walls and mosaic floors, rock-cut aqueducts, an efficient sewage system, large cisterns, and storehouses testify to the high standard of living achieved here. Extraordinary in both the fineness of their tesserae and the vibrancy of their colors, the geometric and faunal mosaics found across various rooms are remarkable; some remain visible in situ beneath protective shelters, while others, such as the famous gazelle mosaic, are preserved inside the “Pietro Griffo” Archaeological Museum.

Among the district’s ruins, a majestic patrician domus stands out with its grand atrium: the peristyle features twenty-six sturdy columns coated in white stucco around the central impluvium, bordered by a perimeter corridor in cocciopesto and a cistern in the southwest corner. Recently, an elegant Roman domus featuring a thermal bath was also discovered and remains under study and excavation.

The Quarter still clearly displays its regular urban grid. The houses are arranged along an orthogonal plan made of cardines (north-south avenues) and decumani (east-west streets) that intersect to define the insulae (city blocks). This layout reflects the original Greek grid of plateiai and stenopoi, pioneered by Hippodamus of Miletus. Lining the streets were not only private homes but also craft workshops and the famous tabernae where food and wine were enjoyed; one remains perfectly recognizable thanks to a stone serving counter with six cutouts for wine amphorae.

Near the Quarter, at the beginning of Cardo I, the so-called Hellenistic Theater was recently identified and is still undergoing study, excavation, and surveying. Strolling along Cardo I, which connects the residential quarter to the Valley of the Temples, imagination easily brings to life scenes of daily activity in the ancient city, back when Greek Akragas was becoming Roman Agrigentum.