Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs – Villa Aurea loop from Valley of the Temples
Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs – Villa Aurea loop from Valley of the Temples
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Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs – Villa Aurea loop from Valley of the Temples
01:01
3.79km
40m
Hiking
Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Last updated: April 14, 2026
Waypoints
Start point
Hotel
Get Directions
534 m
View of the Temple of Concordia
Highlight • Historical Site
Translated by Google •
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798 m
Byzantine Rock-Cut Tombs
Highlight • Historical Site
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1.12 km
Temple of Juno, Valley of the Temples
Highlight • Historical Site
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1.86 km
Fallen Icarus
Highlight • Monument
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2.27 km
Villa Aurea
Highlight • Historical Site
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2.43 km
Temple of Hercules
Highlight • Historical Site
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2.58 km
Cyclopedestrian Overpass
Highlight • Bridge
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2.64 km
Temple of Olympian Zeus (Tempio di Giove Olimpico)
Highlight • Historical Site
According to the historian Diodorus Siculus, construction began immediately following the battle of Himera, the great victory of the Greek cities of Sicily over the Carthaginians, in 480 BC. Again, according to the historian, the construction of the temple was never completed, because it still had no roof at the time of the conquest of the city of Akragas by the Carthaginians in 406 BC.
The very original architectural building was placed on a gigantic rectangular platform, on which stood a base of five steps, the last of which was twice as high as the others, to form a sort of podium and isolate the temple from the surrounding environment .
The temple was enclosed by a wall enclosure, characterized on the outside by seven semi-columns of the Doric order on the short sides and fourteen on the long sides; to these corresponded, inside, as many rectangular semi-pillars. The hypothetical height of the semi-columns has been estimated at more than eighteen metres.
Outside, colossal figures of Giants (the Telamons), about eight meters high and caught in the act of supporting the entablature of the temple with the strength of their arms, were placed in the spaces between the semi-columns on shelves about eleven meters high.
Inside this very tall building - very similar to a fence - there was a completely original cell, as it had no roof, probably interpreted by Diodorus Siculus as a sign of the incompleteness of the construction. The coverage, in fact, was probably limited to the corridors around the cell.
The fronts were decorated to the east with sculptures depicting a struggle between the gods and the Giants (Gigantomachia) and to the west with the taking of Troy (Iliupersis).
The remains of the monumental rectangular altar are visible a short distance from the eastern front of the temple.
Source: parcodellavalledeitempli.it
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3.79 km
End point
Hotel
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
2.89 km
845 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
2.53 km
581 m
338 m
162 m
148 m
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Elevation
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Weather
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Sunday 5 July
31°C
22°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 19.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
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