Eloro Archaeological Area

At the end of the 8th century BC, on a low hill near the sea, to the north of the mouth of the River Tellaro, was founded the city of Eloro by a group of Corinthian settlers.
The excavations, started by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi in 1899 and has since conducted systematically, have revealed a fairly large part of urban structures, within the walls of the double curtain fortification, of the VI century BC, with parts restored in the 4th century BC. The best known area is the one in the southwest, where some houses dating from the end of the eighth century to the middle of the fourth century BC were explored.
An impressive urban renewal affected the entire area from the second half of the 4th century BC and, in this period, a small temple was built, perhaps dedicated to Asclepius, and a larger temple, tetrastyle prostyle, located in the southernmost part of the city, identified as a sanctuary of Demeter.
Towards the beginning of the 2nd century BC, the sanctuary is embedded in a large “stoa” (portico) with two naves divided by quadrangular pillars, with Doric columns on the front. A Byzantine basilica was founded thereafter.
Close to the beach, north of the city, 50 m from the fortification walls was discovered an extra-urban sanctuary of Demeter and Kore, of the VI-IV century a.C.