Beneath the asphalt, History: the "most beautiful city of mortals" emerges from the construction sites of the water network.

When it is finished (hopefully) it will restore to the people of Agrigento the right to running water, after decades of broken promises. For the moment, however, the rehabilitation works of the water network are unintentionally turning into one of the most significant operations of preventive archaeology in recent years, offering a unique glimpse into the millennia-old history of the city.

Everything, it should be clarified, is being done without halting the continuation of the interventions while still ensuring the full protection of the archaeological and monumental heritage that is gradually emerging beneath layers of concrete and asphalt. This is thanks to the presence, at the construction site, of a team of archaeologists under the direction of the Superintendency for Cultural Heritage of Agrigento, who, in accordance with current regulations, document, verify, and protect.

What emerges is that beneath the feet of the citizens are assets that have either been ignored or destroyed to allow for the construction of the city. Buildings, streets, and utility networks have been placed over the past decades above tombs and ancient structures with no respect for their history and archaeological value.

One cannot help but recall what the Martuscelli commission said, established after the landslide of 1966, which told the country about the growth of the city outside any rules. "The people, in Agrigento, have erred, strongly and stubbornly, in terms of administrative conduct and technical performance." Amen.

If we look at the picture that has emerged so far from the excavation activities, we can outline a “map” of what is emerging accidentally while the water network is being renewed. The area of via Pietro Nenni, once known as via Porta di Mare, has yielded exceptionally valuable data for the reconstruction of the medieval phase. From the very first operations, thick layers of "rubbish" related to productive activities, probably pottery kilns, have been intercepted, as suggested by the abundant levels of burnt material and numerous processing waste found. In these deposits, dating between the 11th and 13th centuries AD, a terracotta statuette depicting a saint or a monk was also recovered.

The continuity of use of the area is evidenced by the cutting of these ancient levels for the installation of subsequent hydraulic conduits: one monumental made of blocks of calcarenite lined with mortar and two more recent ones made with typical “catusi” in terracotta.

Still on via Nenni, three masonry and brick arches have been uncovered, not yet fully revealed, which have attracted the attention of many, even though many inaccuracies have been reported about the matter.

A wall oriented East-West has been identified, preserved for a length of over 20 meters, associated with other orthogonal walls, a well, and two channels made of tuff blocks and tiles for water drainage. The structures could be part of the Convent of the Annunziata (or of the Carmine), the exact date of foundation of which is not known. Sources say that in 1310 the Chiaramonte family financed related construction work and that in 1616 it was demolished and rebuilt. The convent was then abandoned in 1863. Between the late 1920s and the early 1930s, the church and the convent were destroyed, and in their place the Palazzo dei Mutilati was built.

The significant scope of the discovery raises the question of how to preserve and musealize this structure. What is about to open is clearly a new game, all “political”, which presupposes the willingness of the responsible entities to expand excavation activities and then perhaps make what has been found accessible to save it from oblivion.

Continuing our journey through what has emerged so far, the southern sector of the city has confirmed its artisanal vocation: in via Dante and via Acrone, homogeneous deposits of dark soil loaded with production waste and lime have been documented, dating from the 11th to the 17th century. These indicate intensive activity related to the production of ceramics and bricks, probably connected to the kiln already known under the railway. In via Acrone, the excavation revealed a stratigraphy extending for about 30 meters and a conduit in calcarenite covered by horizontal slabs, oriented northeast/southwest, containing ceramic fragments from the modern era.

The investigations have also touched the heart of the Greek Akragas and the management of water resources. On via Fratelli Cairoli, just 40 cm from the road surface, an underground cavity with a rectangular section was discovered, directly carved into the bedrock, which still collects a continuous flow of water today and connects to the hydraulic systems already identified in the parallel via Pisacane and via Fratelli Bandiera. Also on via Crispi, near the Colleverde hotel, a sandy channel has emerged, traceable to the archaic and Hellenistic settlement of the area of the Anghelone barracks. In piazzetta Pitagora, on the other hand, a large structure has come to light, the purpose of which is unclear, built with walls in the "opus africanum" technique, a building method of Phoenician-Punic origin used until the Hellenistic period.

Finally, on the necropolis front, the excavations have added new pieces to the knowledge of funerary rites from the 5th century BC. On via Venezia and via Bologna, monumental coffin graves carved into the rock have been found. Despite the severe damage caused by the underground utilities of the last century, some still retain traces of wall plaster decorated with meander patterns. These findings are connected to the vast Pezzino necropolis, which originally extended to via Dante. Similar burials, although heavily damaged, have been documented on via Firenze and via Manzoni, the latter with traces of plaster on almost all internal surfaces.

Remains, forgotten and desecrated, of the “Most beautiful city of mortals”.