Taranto (Tarantino: Tarde) is a city on the Ionian coast of Apulia, in southeastern Italy. With 200,000 inhabitants it is the third-largest city of Southern Italy and the second-largest city of the region, after the capital Bari. Taranto is home of one of the most important naval bases in Italy and it boasts a thousand-year-old history, having been one of the most powerful cities of the Mediterranean during the Greek period.
Taranto was founded in 706 BC by Dorian Greek settlers, as the only Spartan colony outside of Greece (the town is still called "the Spartan city"). A legend gives the credit of the city's foundation to Taras (Τάρας) who, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poseidon and of the nymph Satyrion; after being saved from a shipwreck by riding a dolphin, sent to him by his father, an image visible on many ancient coins.
The city, effectively named Taras, became soon a commercial and militar power of the Ancient Greek world, as well as the most important and inhabited centre of Magna Graecia. Its golden age finished in 272 BC, with the conquest by the Romans, that chose to favor Brindisi as the main port of the Roman Empire.
The town, now called Tarentum, fell in a period of decline and it was later contested between the Lombards, the Byzantines and the Arabs, being attacked and ransacked several times. It was then conquered by the Normans, that made it the capital of the Principality of Taranto, an almost independent feudal fief of the Kingdom of Sicily (and later of Naples), from 1088 to 1465.
The city was later governed by the Monarchy of Spain (for two centuries) and by the Bourbons, that created the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1815. Taranto had a population of about 18,000 inhabitants, all of them living in the small island of the old town.
After the Italian unification, the city became the main base of the newly formed Italian Navy in 1866, and site of important events like the "Battle of Taranto" in 1940, with the victory of the British naval forces against the Italian ones. An enormous steel mill was built not far from the city centre, causing a controversy that lasts still today, making the town famous only for its industry.
Despite this, Taranto is not only a steel mill, but a place worth visiting with an high amount of artistic and historical treasures.
Due to its location in the innermost part of the eponymous gulf Taranto can boast a pleasant Mediterranean climate, with scarce precipitation and average warm temperature during the year.
Summer is quite hot with an average temperature of about 26°C (79°F), but it is generally windy and not very muggy since the town is surrounded by the sea. Autumn and winter are mild and include most of rainfalls but snow is definitely hard to be seen, because average minimum temperature doesn't go below 4°C (39°F). Spring can be relatively humid and with variable temperatures.
Info-point, Piazza Castello (Inside the Aragonese castle, +39 334 284 4098. 09:00-18:00. Information about the city, nearby tourist destinations and events.
Taranto has a beautiful Cathedral and a stunning fishing port, with fantastic theatres, nightlife and gorgeous cuisine- scrumptious! Well worth a visit!
- Aragonese Castle, Piazza Castello, +39 099 775 3438. 09:30-11:30/14:00-18:00/20:00-01:30.
- Cathedral, Piazza Duomo, +39 099 470 7545. 07:30-12:00/16:30-19:30. Free entry.
- Temple of Poseidon, Piazza Castello. Two doric columns represent the remains of this ancient Greek temple, dedicated to the god of the seas. It dates to the 6th century BC and was unfortunately victim of spoliation during the centuries. The columns stand at 8.47 meters (28 ft) above the ground, in front of the city hall, and they can be admired from behind a gate.
- Church of San Domenico Maggiore, Via Duomo, 33, +39 099 707 733. Romanesque-Gothic church built in 1302 over the site of a Byzantine church of the 11th century, built, in turn, on an ancient Greek temple. The entry is reachable through a Baroque staircase erected in the 18th century. Free entry.
- National Archaeological Museum, Via Cavour, 10, +39 099 453 8639. 08:30-19:30. €8 full; €4 reduced; Free up to 18 years and every month's first Sunday.
- Spartan Museum, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 39, +39 330 438 646. Su 11:00-13:00, other days on reservation.
Aragonese Castle, Piazza Castello, +39 099 775 3438. 09:30-11:30/14:00-18:00/20:00-01:30.
Cathedral, Piazza Duomo, +39 099 470 7545. 07:30-12:00/16:30-19:30. Free entry.
Temple of Poseidon, Piazza Castello. Two doric columns represent the remains of this ancient Greek temple, dedicated to the god of the seas. It dates to the 6th century BC and was unfortunately victim of spoliation during the centuries. The columns stand at 8.47 meters (28 ft) above the ground, in front of the city hall, and they can be admired from behind a gate.
Church of San Domenico Maggiore, Via Duomo, 33, +39 099 707 733. Romanesque-Gothic church built in 1302 over the site of a Byzantine church of the 11th century, built, in turn, on an ancient Greek temple. The entry is reachable through a Baroque staircase erected in the 18th century. Free entry.
National Archaeological Museum, Via Cavour, 10, +39 099 453 8639. 08:30-19:30. €8 full; €4 reduced; Free up to 18 years and every month's first Sunday.
Spartan Museum, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 39, +39 330 438 646. Su 11:00-13:00, other days on reservation.
AMAT company also provides the "idrovie" (waterways) service, consisting in a 1½ hr tour sailing around Big and Little Sea with the presence of a guide that will explain Taranto history as well as telling various curiosities and anecdotes. You will pass by the old town island, modern town coast and San Pietro island, sailing through the navigable channel outgoing and incoming.
Boats leave from mainland dock at Piazzale Democrate, near the stone bridge of Porta Napoli. The cost is €8 for an ordinary ticket, €6 if part of a group of more than 20 people. Tours start at 10:30, 11:00 or 16:30 depending on day and month. Consult AMAT site for detailed info.
- Alberobello – its world-famous characteristic white "trulli". (40 min by car)
- Brindisi – relevant Romanesque churches and port with ferries to Albania and Greece. (45 min by car)
- Lecce – the triumph of the Baroque architecture in the heart of Salento peninsula. (1 hr by car)
- Matera – the suggestive scenario of its "sassi" definitely worth visiting (1 hr by car)
- Ostuni – the famous "white town" can be discovered after 45 minutes of driving.