Sicily; Italy - November 2012 : In Agrigento's majestic Valley of the Temples; a site classified by UNESCO; workers harvest in the middle of autumn the olives that will be used to produce an extra virgin oil. They are nicknamed the 'Patriarchs of the Valley of the Temples.' Their trunks twist; as if suspended between the sky and earth; expressing a pain and suffering that seem to recount the night of time. The oldest of these trees is believed to have sprouted first as long as 700 years ago. A precious nectare; one of rarest olive oils in the Mediterranean; is extracted from the fruit of these centuries-old olive trees lost in the ruins of the temples of the Ancient City of Agrigento; the former Akragas;founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C. in the heart of Sicily. PICTURED : Ancient Stone Olive Press. PHOTO by Eric Vandeville/akg-images