Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in
Apulia, southern
Italy. It is the capital of
Province of Taranto and is an important military and commercial port.
|
The swing bridge is the symbol of Taranto. |
It is the third largest continental city of southern Italy: according to the
2001 census, it has population of 201,349.
Its coordinates are . Its altitude is 15 metres above sea level, with a surface area of 217 km². The postal code is 74100, the phone prefix is 099, and the fiscal code is L049.
Taranto is an important commercial and military port. It has well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, some shipyards for building warships, and food-processing factories.
Taranto history dates back to the
8th century BC when it was founded as a Greek colony. The ancient city was situated on a
peninsula, protected by a helm; the modern city has been built over the ancient Greek
necropolis. The islets of
S. Pietro and
S. Paolo (St. Peter and St. Paul) protect the bay, called
Mar Grande (
Big Sea), where the commercial port is located. Another bay, called
Mar Piccolo (
Little Sea), is formed by the old city, and there
fishing is flourishing;
Mar Piccolo is a military port with a strategic importance; at the end of the 19th century, a channel was excavated to allow the military ships to enter
Mar Piccolo harbour, and the ancient Greek city become an island. In addition, the islets and the coast are strongly fortified. Because of the presence of these two bays, Taranto is also called “the city of the two seas”.
The
Greek colonists called the city
Taras (
'), from the name of the mythical eponymous hero Taras, while the Romans, who connected the city to Rome with an extension of the Appian way, called it Tarentum
'.
Taranto is also famous for the British attack on the Regia Marina base during the World War II, known as the Battle (or Night) of Taranto''.
Origins
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Ancient coin from Taranto, with the eponym Taras hero riding a dolphin. |
Taranto was founded in
706 BC by Dorian immigrants as the only
Spartan colony, and its origin is peculiar: the founders are
parthenii, sons of unmarried Spartan women and
perioikoi (free men, but not citizens of Sparta); these unions were decided by the Spartans to increase the number of soldiers (only the citizens of Sparta could become soldiers) during the bloody
Messenian
wars, but later they were nullified, and the sons were forced to leave. Phalanthus, the
parthenian leader, went to
Delphi to consult the
oracle: the puzzling answer designed the harbour of Taranto as the new home of the exiles. The
Parthenii arrived in Apulia, and founded the city, naming it
Taras after the son of the Greek sea god,
Poseidon, and of a local nymph, Satyrion. According to other sources,
Heracles founded the city. Another tradition indicates Taras as the founder of the city; the symbol of the Greek city (as well as of the modern city) is Taras riding a dolphin. Taranto increased its power, becoming a commercial power and a sovereign city of
Magna Graecia, ruling over the
Greek colonies in southern Italy.
These historical figures have had a relationship with the city. Not all of them were actually born in Taranto.
*
Archytas of Tarentum, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, strategist and commander-in-chief of the army of Taranto;
*
Philolaus, mathematician and philosopher.
*
Aristoxenus, peripatetic philosopher, and writer on music and rhythm;
*
Leonidas of Tarentum, poet;
*
Lysis of Tarentum, philosopher;
*
Rhinthon (c. 323–285 BC), dramatist;
*
Livius Andronicus, poet;
*
Titus Quinctius Flamininus,
propraetor of Tarentum;
*
Pacuvius, tragic poet, died in Tarentum in
130 BC;
*
Cataldus, archibishop of Taranto, saint, and patronus;
*
Bohemond of Taranto, key military leader on the First Crusade
*
Gil Cardinal Albornoz, archibishop of Taranto in
1644;
*
Giovanni Paisiello, composer;
*
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Napoleonic army general and novelist, died in Taranto;
*
Etienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (1765 - 1840),
duke of Taranto and
marshal of France;
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Horace to Septimius Odes - Plate |
*
Star of David: "A David's shield has recently been noted on a Jewish tombstone at Tarentum, in southern Italy, which may date as early as the third century of the common era."
* Tarentum was included in the hit PC game Rome: Total War as the governing settlement for Apulia as well as the capital of the Roman Faction of Brutii
*
Satellite map, Google Maps*
Culture centre Filonide*
Heraldica.org- Napoleonic heraldry*
Tourism in Taranto *
Taranto Community *
Official site*
ItalianVisits.com
