Monastero di Santo Spirito

Agrigento


At the top of a set of steps off Via Atenea, this convent was founded by Cistercian nuns around 1290. A handsome Gothic portal leads inside, where the nuns are still in residence, praying, meditating and baking heavenly sweets, including cuscusu (sweet couscous made with local pistachios), dolci di mandorla (almond pastries) and conchigliette (shell-shaped marzipan sweets filled with pistachio paste). Press the doorbell and say 'Vorrei comprare qualche dolce' ('I'd like to buy a few sweets').


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Agrigento attractions

1. Museo Civico

0.01 MILES

Upstairs at Monastero di Santo Spirito, the small Museo Civico is worth a quick visit as much for the views over the Valley of the Temples as its poorly…

2. Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Greci

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This lovely, small church stands on the site of a 5th-century Doric temple dedicated to Athena. Inside are some badly damaged Byzantine frescoes, the…

3. Cathedral

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The city's magnificent and striking 11th-century cathedral has been much altered over the centuries. It boasts a wonderful Norman ceiling and a mysterious…

4. Museo Archeologico

1.05 MILES

North of the temples, this wheelchair-accessible museum is one of Sicily's finest, with a huge collection of clearly labelled artefacts from the excavated…

5. Quartiere Ellenistico-Romano

1.1 MILES

To the east of the Museo Archeologico is the Hellenistic-Roman Quarter, featuring a well-preserved street layout which was part of urban Akragas (and…

6. Santuario delle Divine Chtoniche

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7. Giardino della Kolymbetra

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8. Tempio dei Dioscuri

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Four columns mark the Tempio dei Dioscuri, also known as the Temple of Castor and Pollux. Built towards the end of the 5th century, it was destroyed by…

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