Mon 17. [17 February 1902] Cold day with occasional storms but very
bright between. Father much better. After breakfast H and I walked
up to the town which was quite full of men in cloaks hanging about.
We think Empedocles fell to his lowest in the Salone Empedocle!
Very steep streets, sometimes staircases, led us up to the Duomo
which was Norman but is entirely restored. Only one column of the
nave and a fine bit of tower remains of the old work. There is in the
sacristy a very fine sarcophagus, Roman says the guide book, but
extremely good - high relief, the subject Phaedra and Hyppolytus. I
photographed two sides; especially fine the end representing
Phaedra being consoled by her maidens. We went onto the roof
conducted by a fat and cheerful sacristan. The distant hills were
covered with snow wh. fell last night. Below us were sulphur mines.
The sacristan gave us a respectable boy as guide - thereby
defeating the hopes of the ragamuffins who had followed us - and we
went to San Giorgio of which only a fine Norman door remains, much
defaced however - this soft stone which works so easily does not
retain a clear edge - then to Santa Maria dei Greci where under the
church you can see the stylobate and 6 fluted columns, a foot or two in
the height of them, belonging to the oldest temple of Agrigentum
[Agrigento] - or rather of Akragus. Then to the Museum where there is
a good archaic Apollo found near the T of Ceres, some 4 ft high, and
a delightful old Direttore who showed us round and explained things
in most fluent Italian. So home to lunch and were caught in a little
shower; after we got in it rained hard and hailed. Directly after lunch
drove with Father to the temples; he went home and Hugo and I on to
the tomb of Theron through the Porta Aurea. It's not much of a place.
Then up to the old Monastery of San Niccolo which has a lovely
garden full of stone pines and orange trees. There is a wall with a fine
and elaborate marble cornice - Greek - circular. Inside we saw a
square chamber with a carved cornice - occupied it was by rabbits
and peacocks! - and then the church which was a temple and retains
a bold stone cornice, moulded, above which springs the stone barrel
roof which is Norman and very splendid. The holy water basin is
supported by a great marble hand wh. the woman said was also
Greek, the basin having been used for offerings. Near by is a casa
Greca - the foundations of rooms and of a columned court and
mosaic floors. So in at 4 to tea.