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Agrigento
Agrigento , Lat. Agrigentum, city (1991 pop. 55,283), capital of Agrigento prov., S Sicily, Italy, on a hill above the Mediterranean Sea. It is an agricultural market and a tourist center, but per capita income is among the lowest in Italy. Sulfur and potash are mined. Founded c.580 BC as Acragas (or Akragas) by Greek colonists of Gela , the city became one of the most prosperous in the Greek world, as is indicated by the imposing ruins that remain. It was destroyed c.406 BC by Carthage but recovered. During the first of the Punic Wars the city suffered at the hands of both the Romans and the Carthaginians. It fell definitively to Rome in 210 BC during the Second Punic War. After the fall of Rome, Agrigento passed to the Byzantines and then to the Arabs (9th cent.) and to the Normans (11th cent.). Of note in the city are the remains of several Doric temples (6th-5th cent. BC), Roman ruins, Christian catacombs, and archaeological and art museums. |
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"Agrigento." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Agrigento." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Agrigent.html "Agrigento." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Agrigent.html |
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Agrigento
Agrigento, Sicily/Italy Akragas, Agrigentum, Girgenti Founded by the Greeks c.580 bc on a hill overlooking the sea, the original Greek name may be connected with the word for ‘summit’. Sacked by the Carthaginians and Romans during the First Punic War (264–241 bc), it was renamed Agrigentum by the Romans when they captured the town in 210 bc during the Second Punic War (218–201 bc). It was occupied by the Saracens in 828 who gave it an Arabized version of Agrigentum, Girgenti, and this name was retained until it reverted to its classical name in 1927.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Agrigento." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Agrigento." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Agrigento.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Agrigento." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Agrigento.html |
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