Calatafimi Segesta is a small inland town in western Sicily whose importance comes from what surrounds it. Just outside town, the ruins of ancient Segesta rise in open hills: a near-complete Doric temple on one slope and a Greek theatre on another, with wide views over the countryside.
The modern town itself is modest, but it gives the archaeological park a human setting rather than leaving it as a coach-tour stop between Palermo and Trapani. The old centre has churches, steep lanes and the slow feel of rural Sicily; nearby Pianto Romano marks Garibaldi's 1860 victory in the campaign that helped create modern Italy.
Come for Segesta first. The Doric temple and Greek theatre are strong enough to justify a detour on their own, and the combination of classical ruins, Sicilian hills and Risorgimento memory gives Calatafimi Segesta more identity than its size suggests.