Taranto

Taranto divides itself between two seas — the open Mar Grande and the calm, lagoon-like Mar Piccolo — and between two souls: a Greek city that rivalled the greatest of the ancient Mediterranean, and a naval capital whose arsenal still sets the rhythm of its days. Temple columns, a working military port and a pivot bridge share one shoreline.

Why visit

Taranto rewards travellers who like their history dense and their cities real. This was one of the wealthiest colonies of Magna Graecia, the Greek civilisation of southern Italy, and its museums and excavations hold treasures that would anchor a capital collection anywhere in Europe. Yet the city never turned itself into an open-air museum: fishermen still work the Mar Piccolo, mussels are farmed exactly where the old town sits, and the military port remains at the centre of national life. For visitors, that mix means extraordinary archaeology, a genuinely lived-in historic quarter, and a waterfront where the sea is the city’s daily business rather than its backdrop. The Ionian coast and the whitewashed hill towns of the Salento lie within easy reach, but Taranto itself deserves far more than the lunch stop it is often reduced to.

Character and history

Founded in the eighth century BC by Spartan colonists, Taras grew into one of the most powerful cities of the Greek west, famous for its philosophers, its dyed fabrics and its horsemen. Roman conquest, Byzantine and Norman rule, and a long medieval decline followed, but the sea kept the city alive. The modern era arrived with the Italian Navy: the Arsenal, opened at the end of the nineteenth century, made Taranto one of the great naval bases of the Mediterranean and rebuilt the city around its two harbours. That layered story is visible everywhere — Greek columns rising beside a medieval convent, Aragonese walls facing an industrial skyline, and the elegantly arcaded seafront of the Borgo, the “new town” laid out across the canal in the late nineteenth century. Taranto is also the home of the Tarantella’s namesake, the tarantula-linked rituals of the Salento, and the Palio regatta still re-enacts its seafaring traditions each year.

What to see

Start on the island of the Città Vecchia, where the Basilica Cathedral of San Cataldo (Taranto Duomo) — among the oldest cathedrals in Puglia — anchors a tangle of lanes, Via Duomo runs along the acropolis, and the Aragonese Walls drop straight into the sea. Along Via Cava, Byzantine-era hypogea honeycomb the rock, including the Funerary Hypogeum and the remarkable Hypogean Oil Mill, one of the oldest in Puglia.

Back towards the water, the Swing Bridge San Francesco di Paola (Pont Girevole) of 1887 still swings open on its pivot, and beside it stand the Columns of the Doric Temple, survivors of an archaic Greek temple. The Aragonese Castle of Taranto guards the canal and can be visited with the Navy’s cooperation. On the Borgo side, walk the Vittorio Emanuele III Seafront past the Monument to the Sailor, then dive into the MArTA – National Archaeological Museum of Taranto, one of southern Italy’s finest museums, where the gold hoards known as the Ori di Taranto, the Tomb of the Athlete and the bronze Zeus of Ugento tell the story of Magna Graecia from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. The Diocesan Museum of Taranto and the Sant’Egidio Pinacoteca and Museum add sacred art and painting to the circuit.

How to experience

Taranto is best explored on foot, splitting the day between the island and the Borgo. Time a visit to catch the swing bridge in motion — it opens on demand for passing craft, a small spectacle locals never tire of. Book a guided tour of the Città Vecchia: the hypogea and the remains of the Greek temple near San Domenico are difficult to read alone and are being opened up through ongoing restoration. The Military Arsenal of the Italian Navy opens its historic spaces for guided visits when scheduled — check locally. For the sea itself, join a boat trip on the Mar Piccolo among the mussel farms, whose product is one of Italy’s most prized. Come hungry: raw seafood, riso patate e cozze and the city’s mussel dishes are the essential table. The official portal tarantocapitaledimare.it lists current tours, openings and events.

Practical planning

The city is served by trains on the Bari–Lecce and Taranto–Brindisi lines and by the regional airport of Grottaglie to the north. Everything central spreads along the waterfront and the old island, so two days is a comfortable minimum: one for the archaeology and the Città Vecchia, one for the museums and the Borgo. Museums and the castle have fixed entry schedules that change with the season and with naval requirements, so confirm on their official sites before setting out. Spring and autumn bring the most reliable weather for walking the promenade; summer is hot but the sea breeze on the Mar Grande keeps evenings pleasant.

Nearby places

Castellana Grotte, with its great show caves, and Conversano, a noble old town, lie to the north-east towards Bari, while Grottaglie, the ceramics town of the same province, is a short drive away on the edge of the Murge.