FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE, ROMANTIC EXPERIENCE OF the ancient world, head to Segesta, an hour’s drive west of Palermo. There you’ll find one of the most perfectly preserved temples in the world, from the fifth century B.C., set in the midst of a remote grassy field.

According to the Roman writer Cicero, the temple once held a statue of the Goddess Diana. When a governor ordered it removed, all the townswomen gathered to anoint the statue with perfume, cover it with flowers, and burn incense to give her a sacred send off.

Mystery surrounds this place. It’s unknown why the Elymians, settlers who came before the conquering Greeks, never put a roof on it. Its thirty-six Doric columns clearly show Greek influence, and there’s a theory that the Elymians built it to get on the good side of those powerful Greeks. At the time they were having a rivalry with their southern Selinunte neighbors, who’d aligned themselves with Syracuse. The Elymians, wanting the Greeks to think they were worth supporting, started building the temple because they knew a delegation from Athens would be coming through to check them out. Once the Athenians came and went, convinced the Segesta Elymians were rich and had good taste in architecture, they stopped work on the temple.

When the wind whips through the temple’s columns, it sounds as if an organ is being played. And in spring, when it’s surrounded by wildflowers, it’s glorious. From the Segesta hilltop, there’s a sweeping view of the valley towards the Gulf of Castellammare. Unlike places such as Agrigento, where modern developments break the ancient mood, in Segesta there are no such distractions.

A short walk away is an amphitheater from the third century B.C., where revivals of Greek plays, ballets, and avant-garde performances are staged in the summer.

Segesta Temple: Open November-March 9-5, April-September 9-6:30, October 9-5:30, www.segestawelcome.com. It can be reached by driving an hour west from Palermo, or you can take a 50-minute bus ride from Trapani.

Golden Day: Visit the Segesta Temple, then treat yourself to a lunch or stay at Baglio Passofondo (www.bagliopassofondo.com), an elegantly restored fortified farmhouse, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.