After a long and demanding construction project, FAI has opened Case Montana to the public: a traditional peasant house in the Agrigento countryside, simple and poor, yet precious, vivid and unmissable testimony to the rural civilisation that has cared for and cultivated this unique landscape for centuries. The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is a regional archaeological park, one of the largest and most important in the Mediterranean, an area of national interest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and recently also recognised as a 'rural landscape of historical interest' by the Ministry of Agriculture. FAI purchased the Case Montana precisely to enhance the historical landscape of which they are a part, together with the Garden in the valley: for centuries, farmers lived here and cultivated the 'garden', a citrus grove with over 600 trees, as well as many other plants typical of this environment, which today is a veritable oasis of Mediterranean biodiversity.

FAI therefore wanted to restore the historical unity of this agricultural estate, but also to preserve a now rare example of historical rural architecture. The Case Montana have been added to the current visitor route, enriching it and offering new cultural content: not only a visit to the historic buildings, which have been restored and renovated while keeping their structure intact, traditional finishes and authentic flavour, but also an immersive video story, set up in one of the rooms of the houses, dedicated to the history of the 2,600 years of life of this landscape, curated by FAI and narrated by Sicilian actor Vincenzo Pirrotta, created thanks to the contribution of studies and research conducted in collaboration with the Archaeological Park and the University of Milan.

The Giardino della Kolymbethra and the Case Montana

FAI has managed the Giardino della Kolymbethra since 1999, when the land was first granted by the Sicilian Region. In the first twenty-five years, the property was restored from abandonment and degradation with substantial interventions and constant investments for the restoration and conservation of the historic rural landscape, traditional crops and natural biodiversity, and for the regular opening and provision of services to the public – up to 60,000 visitors per year – who visit it in ever-increasing numbers. At the end of 2018, the Foundation acquired Case Montana, a building inhabited until the mid-20th century by the farmers who had cultivated the Garden for centuries, of which only ruins remained, and the surrounding land, with the aim of preserving and enhancing the history of this part of the Valley's landscape, expanding visits to the property. This intention was confirmed thanks to the partnership agreement signed in 2024 between FAI and the Archaeological and Landscape Park of the Valley of the Temples, which entrusted the Foundation with the management and enhancement of the Giardino della Kolymbethra for the next twenty-five years and thanks to which it was possible to renew the commitment to develop a wide-ranging programme of interventions, with the aim of offering an increasingly wide range of visits.