Sicily · Enna
Agira
Birthplace of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus and burial site of 490 Canadian soldiers of the 1943 campaign.
Known for
DIODORUS SICULUS
Birthplace around 90 BC of the Greek historian who wrote the forty-book Bibliotheca historica, of which fifteen books survive intact.
SAN FILIPPO
Royal Abbey founded by Basilian monks in the seventh or eighth century, rebuilt by Roger I after 1095; patron saint buried beneath the church.
CANADIAN CEMETERY
Only Canadian war cemetery in Italy holds the 490 graves of soldiers killed taking Agira in five days of July 1943 fighting, the largest Canadian battle of the Sicilian campaign.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Pagnotta del Dittaino DOP and Pesca di Leonforte IGP production zones.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Filippo di Agira, 11 May
Why come
Agira sits on the summit and slopes of Monte Teja in the mid-valley of the Salso river, thirty-five kilometers east of Enna. The town stands on the site of the Sicel city of Agyrion, where the Greek general Timoleon settled ten thousand colonists in 339 BC. The lower town spreads at the base of the mountain while the old quarter climbs its slopes in stone lanes toward the castle at the summit, a layout that stacks Greek, Byzantine, Norman and Aragonese remains one above the other as the ground rises.
In July 1943 Agira fell to the Canadians after five days of fighting, the largest Canadian battle of the Sicilian campaign. The town's position on high ground, the same position that made it a Sicel stronghold and a Norman abbey seat centuries earlier, is what made it worth the five days of fighting: whoever held Monte Teja held the central Sicilian interior below it.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Agira’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
What to see
Reale Abbazia di San Filippo
The church stands as the central monument of the town, its Basilian origins folded into the Norman reconstruction; the crypt beneath holds the patron saint.
Castello di Agira
Medieval fortress on the summit of Monte Teja above the town, with surviving walls and towers; the strategic outpost that controlled the central Sicilian interior.
Agira Canadian War Cemetery
The cemetery sits on a hill outside the town, its rows of graves facing the slopes of Monte Teja where the fighting that put the soldiers there took place.
Centro storico medievale
Steep stone lanes climbing Monte Teja from the lower town to the castle, layered with Greek, Byzantine, Norman and Aragonese remains.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Agira fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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Living here
- Population 7,671
- Off the beaten pathi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Sicily, 54 min drive
- Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 5 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 650 m
- Population: 7,671
- Surface area: 164.08 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Featured on
Agira appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
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