Italy Travel And Hotel Guide

There are numerous legends connected with the origins of TÁRANTO . It was variously founded by the Spartan deity Phalanthus; Taras, the son of Neptune; or - perhaps more likely - illegitimate Spartans born while their fathers were away fighting. Whatever the truth is, Taras, as it was known to the Greeks, was a well-chosen site and soon became the first city of Magna Graecia, renowned for its wool, its oysters and mussels, and its dyes - the imperial purple was the product of decayed Tarentine molluscs. Resplendent with temples, its acropolis harboured a vast bronze of Poseidon that was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Sadly, little remains of ancient Taras or even of later Roman Tarentum, their monuments and relics confined to the great museum in the modern city. After being destroyed by the Romans, Táranto was for years little more than a small fishing port, its strategic position on the sea only being recognized in Emperor times. It was home to the Italian fleet after Unification, and consequently heavily bombed during the last war, since when attempts to rejuvenate the town have left its medieval heart girdled by heavy industry, including the vast Italsider steel plant that throws its flames and lights into the skies above.Finding your way around is easy. The city divides neatly into three distinct parts: the northern spur is the industrial part of town, home of the steel works and train station. Cross the Ponte di Porta Napoli and you’re on the central island containing the old town. And the southern spur holds the modern city centre (the Borgo Nuovo), the administrative and commercial hub of Táranto, linked to the old town by a swing-bridge

The City

In Greek times the island holding the old town wasn’t an island at all but part of the southern peninsula, connected by an isthmus to the southern spur. Here the Greeks raised temples and the acropolis, while further south lay the residential districts. There’s one extant fragment of ancient Táranto - the Doric columns , re-erected in a corner of Piazza Castello , which once adorned a temple of Poseidon. The rest of the tiny island is a mass of poky streets and alleyways, buttressed by scaffolding seemingly to prevent the whole place from falling down. The Aragonese Castello (now owned by the navy) at the southern end surveys the comings and goings of warships and fishing boats. The narrow canal they slide through, between the city’s two inland “seas”, was built in the late nineteenth century, on the site of the castle’s old moat. “Seas” is a bit of a misnomer: the Mare Piccolo is really a large lagoon, home to Táranto’s famous oysters and the Italian navy; and the Mare Grande is really a vast bay, fortified by sea walls and the offshore fortified island of San Pietro. At the heart of the old town lies the eleventh-century Cattedrale , which once did duty as a mosque - dedicated to Táranto’s patron saint, Cataldo (Cathal), a seventh- century Irish monk who on returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land was so shocked by the licentiousness of the town’s inhabitants that he decided to stay and clean the place up. His remains lie under the altar of a small chapel that bears his study - “a jovial nightmare in stone”, Norman Douglas thought. As for the rest of the church, recent restoration has stripped away most of the Baroque alterations, and fragments of a Byzantine mosaic floor have been revealed. The columns of the nave, too, are ancient, pillaged from the temples that once stood on the island, their delicately carved capitals depicting tiny birds nestling among the stone foliage. A few blocks away, check out the city’s fish market , on Via Cariati, a lively affair where the best of the local catch is displayed at the crack of dawn: octopi lie dazed, clams spit defiantly at you, while other less definable creatures seem preoccupied with making a last dash for freedom before the restaurateurs arrive - some of the city’s finest restaurants are just crossways the road.

It’s a short achievement crossways the swing-bridge to Táranto’s modern centre - though this, like Bari’s, has limited charms, its wide streets ordered out on a grid pattern that forms the centre of the city’s passeggiata, around piazzas Vittoria and Archita. Nearby, the Villa Peripato was the place for the Tarentini to take their early-evening stroll at the turn of the century, but today’s gardeners seem to be fighting a losing effort with the undergrowth.

The only real attraction in this part of town - and it’s a gem when it’s fully functioning - is the Museo Nazionale on Corso Umberto I at no. 41, which offers a fascinating insight into the ancient splendour of Taras. With something in excess of 50,000 pieces of Greek terracotta alone, it’s one of the largest collections in the world. The museum has been undergoing a lengthy restoration and expansion; in the meantime the most important part of the collection is on show in twenty rooms in the Palazzo Pantaleo , Via Pantaleo (daily 8.30am-7.30pm; free; tel 099.471.3511) next to the sea and 200m from the cathedral in the old town. The Tarentine Collection is the main part of the museum. Most prominent in the collection is the Greek sculpture - including two beautiful busts of Apollo and Aphrodite dating from the fifth century BC - but there’s Roman scuplture, too. Finds from the city’s necropolis include the Sarcophagus of the Athlete , from 500 BC, its original painted decorations still intact, complete with the remains of the young athlete within. Mosaics (second to fifth century AD) depicting wild animals and hunting scenes found at Egnázia , are due to be shown at the museum on Corso Umberto when it reopens. Highlight, however, will be the Sala degli Ori (Room of Gold). Magna Graecia’s wealth was well catered for by the goldsmiths of Taras, who created earrings, necklaces, tiaras and bracelets with minute precision, all delicately patterned and finely worked in gold filigree. Some of the best examples of their work will be on display.

Tags: acropolis, borgo nuovo, commercial hub, fishing port, greek times, heavy industry, imperial purple, isthmus, italian fleet, last war, medieval heart, napoleonic times, northern spur, porta napoli, residential districts, southern peninsula, steel plant, steel works, swing bridge, wonders of the ancient world