In the hills near Aidone, Morgantina preserves streets, houses, sanctuaries, workshops and one of Sicily’s most impressive ancient agoras. The ruins reveal interaction between Indigenous Sicel communities and Greek settlers rather than a simple story of cultural replacement. From the public centre, views across fertile inland Sicily help explain the city’s agricultural wealth and strategic value.
An earlier settlement occupied the Cittadella hill, while a new city developed on the Serra Orlando plateau in the fifth century BC. Morgantina later flourished under the Hellenistic kingdom of Syracuse. Rome took the city during the Second Punic War in 211 BC and assigned it to Hispanic mercenaries; occupation continued, although political and economic importance changed.
