Awe in Sicily. A gigantic, ancient Greek statue, about 2,500 years old, restored and returned ton Valley of the Temples of Sicily, an archaeological site that the poet Pindar had once called “the most beautiful city of mortals”.

The 8-meter-high statue depicts Telamon and once supported the Doric temple of Zeus, in an area that art historians believe was it is the most important in the world in terms of ancient Greek art, outside of Greece itself.

“Telamonas will become (…) the new international ambassador of an archaeological site which has no equal anywhere in the world”, said Sicilian heritage advisor Francesco Paolo Scarpinato.

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It took 20 years of careful restoration of the colossal statue until Telamon returns to his place again, as guardian of the temple. In ancient times, this giant statue was one of many that formed an integral part of the building’s structure. The experts reunited 90 fragments of the 5th BC. century that had been found in archaeological excavations about a century agoas reported by local authorities.

The Temple of Zeus was built to commemorate a victory of Akraganta (present-day Agrigento) over the Carthaginians but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1401. In the 18th century the site was looted and some parts of the building were used to build a wharf in neighboring Porto Empedocle.

Since the 19th century, when experts accidentally found what was left of the statues of Telamon, the temple has attracted the attention of scholars determined to discover its buried secrets.

The Valley of the Temples has been included in the World Heritage List since 1997 of UNESCO and today it is a top tourist destination. In 2023 it welcomed over 1 million visitors, according to Scarpinato.

The president of Sicily, Renato Scifani announced that the Temple of Zeus was to be restored soon, as for 2025 Agrigento has been declared the cultural capital of Italy. Telamonas will be at the center of the festivities, and the local authorities promise “an augmented reality project, even special lighting to encourage night visits (…) and to promote this impressive project internationally”, as Scarpinato said.