SEGESTA TEMPLE

The temple of Segesta was built around the fifth century BC and is located inside the archaeological site of Segesta. The shorter side is composed of 6 columns, while the longer side is 14 columns for a total of 36 columns in total.

Like the theatre, the temple of Segesta was built according to Greek architecture, although curiously the city of Segesta was not Greek, but of Elymian origin.
In this regard, historians speculate that around the fifth century, due to its flourishing trade, Segesta, reached a remarkable level of Greekness, so much so that a certain know-how in construction for example of Doric temples, was imported to the city.

Whatever the architectural model used and the debate that was generated among scholars as to why a Greek temple was built in a town which was not Greek, the most important thing to say is that the temple of Segesta had an important religious function. It is located in an area that was considered the key point in the urban structure of Segesta, though it did not follow its vicissitudes, remaining basically intact despite the fact that only ruins remain of the rest of the city.

Recently, the temple of Segesta has been restored and today it is one of the highlights of the archaeological area.

In 2009, under the auspices of the Regional Province of Trapani a survey was conducted on the level of accessibility for people in wheelchairs intending to visit the temple of Segesta. Access has been made possible by way of an especially made iron pathway that runs along the temple.