Colonne del Tempio Dorico

Two standing Doric columns and part of another preserve a fragment of an ancient Greek sanctuary beside Piazza Castello in Taranto. They belong to the architectural history of Taras, the Greek city beneath the later urban settlement.

Why it matters

The remains provide a rare above-ground encounter with the monumental architecture of Greek Taranto. Their scale suggests the importance of the sanctuary within the ancient acropolis, even though much of its plan and original dedication remains uncertain.

What to notice

The fluted columns are made from local calcareous stone. Their survival within the modern city contrasts with the much larger building they once helped define. The surrounding ground records later reuse and the gradual exposure of ancient structures from beneath subsequent buildings.

Context and history

The stone temple is associated with the early sixth century BC. The traditional name Temple of Poseidon is not a secure identification of its deity; other interpretations have proposed a female divinity. Quarrying, storage, religious building and craft activity changed the site in later centuries. Modern clearance exposed the columns as a distinct archaeological monument.