Selinunte is an ancient Greek city located in the southwestern part of Sicily, today it represents the largest archaeological area in Castelvetrano in Europe.
The area is made up of various temples and secondary buildings of which very little remains due to the earthquakes that occurred in the Middle Ages. Despite this, thanks to the restoration work, Temple E or Hera was rebuilt, a Greek temple of the Doric order which was built in the 6th century BC on the foundations of older buildings, and the lateral colonnade of Temple C, which is also a Greek temple of the Doric order built in the 6th century BC.
The sculptures found in the excavations of the archaeological area in Castelvetrano are mainly found in the National Archaeological Museum of Palermo except for the most famous work, the Ephebe of Selinunte, a valuable bronze statuette dating back to the 5th century. BC, which is now exhibited in the Municipal Museum of Castelvetrano.
Overall, the park enclosed eight temples within this very large area, four different areas can be distinguished:
- The Acropolis located south of the park is surrounded by mighty walls and ends overhanging the sea, in this area, there are five temples including the large and famous Temple C dedicated to Apollo.
- The Collina di Manuzza is located north of the park and is one of the most fertile areas in which the actual inhabited area develops.
- The Eastern Hill is where the temples E, F and G are located, among these the most important is the last one as it is thought to be dedicated to Zeus, it was more than 110 meters long and more than 50 meters wide and was one of the most impressive from all over the then known world.
- The Sanctuary of the Goddess Malophòros is located west of the archaeological area in Castelvetrano, the goddess was the bearer of the pomegranate, one of the many local expressions of mother earth.