Imagine Agrigento

Abstract

“If you live there,” says a Japanese proverb, “that city is the capital.” Agrigento is thus a capital for its inhabitants and for those who study and care for its monuments and history. It is also a temporary capital for the many visitors drawn each year by the charm of classical city and its landscape. Designated Italian Capital of Culture 2025, Agrigento has become a centre of research and collaboration. In view of this event, the National PhD Programme in Mediterranean Archaeological, Historical, Architectural and Landscape Heritage (PASAP_Med) and the University of Palermo’s Agrigento Hub involved several Italian universities in initiatives aimed at turning the city into an academic community, enhancing its heritage and promoting cultural and economic growth. For several days, with over a hundred scholars, professors and PhD candidates, Agrigento truly became an academic capital, hosting meetings, lectures and site visits among its archaeological and contemporary landmarks. The outcomes of these multidisciplinary studies – anticipated by the “Days for the Knowledge and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage” held by PASAP_Med in Canosa – are gathered in this libellus, offered as both testimony and opportunity to imagine Agrigento’s future through the dialogue between its present and its enduring archaeological and landscape vocation.