My corner of Puglia: Taranto
Should you decide to pay a visit to the province of Taranto, you mustn’t miss out on the main city, Taranto itself. Taranto is a contradictory place, a real city: it opens up to the sea but at the same time is enclosed by steelworks factories; it’s the city of Two Seas, but increasingly a city on a lagoon; a city of fishermen and of mussels opposed to naval air stations and submarines.
These contradictions aside, the starting point of a tour of the capital of “Magna Grecia” surely is Taranto’s Archeological Museum, partially reopened in 2007, after lengthy re-cataloguing of the exhibits. To get a feel for what you will see in this museum, which is the 2nd most important in South Italy after the museum in Naples, visit http://www.museotaranto.it/
To admire the city in its purest form, I would visit the Croce area, called L’Isola”, (“the Island”) best known as the Città Vecchia.
I would take advantage of the walk to see the Mar Piccolo (literally, “Small Sea”): you will get a chance to experience the typical postcard-perfect view of a fisherman leaving to go out to sea or coming back from his fishing trip and unloading his catch; the decked, impressive military ships and the elegant “Punta Penna” bridge in the background. It’s worth exploring the narrow alleyways, many of which only allow access to one person at a time (they were built this way to allow for a better defense response in the event of an invasion).
A visit to the main church, Duomo di San Cataldo, is a must. Pay particular attention to the columns in the central nave, each of them with a different capital; to the crypt with Byzantium paintings and especially to the stunning baroque chapel. This chapel contains the statue of Saint Cataldo, protector of the city celebrated on the 10th May.
The Città Vecchia has so many hidden gems, which the inhabitants themselves are unaware of, so it’s worth going on a guided tour: worthy of mention is the tour organised by the “Vito Forleo” Cultural Association, it departs “Piazza Castello” at 7.30pm every Saturday. The meeting point is just by the two mighty Doric columns, the only visible testimony to Taranto’s glorious past as a Greek colony.
Taranto.Peschereccio.
Taranto.Città Vecchia
Another landmark that you certainly won’t miss is the imposing castle, Castello Aragonese, the base for the Marine Military force. From March 2005 the castle can be visited by booking in advance with the Ufficio Cerimonie e Visite of Castello Aragonese (tel.099/7753438) at the tours of 9.30, 11.30, 16.00, 18.00, 20.00The castle is one of Taranto’s symbols, flanked by the swing bridge. If you are lucky or unlucky, if you happen to be catching a train) you may see the bridge lift to allow the passage of a military ship. The population will be watching, waving and cheering the sailors from the strait. In turn, the proud sailors will respond to the excited members of the public. There will be mothers, sisters, fiancées crying at the departure of their sons, brothers or fiancés, not knowing how many months will pass till they see them again.
The modern part of the city has various interesting sights, the most important of which is the beautiful seafront, Lungomare, where you will see lovers and sailors. The seafront is flanked by imposing elegant buildings dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Front the seafront you will be able to see sirens sculpted in the rocks below by a famous local artist. The city follows an orderly development plan up to Viale Magna Grecia. Head to Viale Magna Grecia if you are interested in modern architecture, and here you must not miss out on a visit to the “Concattedrale”, designed by Gio’ Ponti, one of the most famous 20th century Italian architects.
For a 360° view of the city, I suggest a trip to Circumarpiccolo, to the “Fucarino” forest and the “La vela” wetland, two WWF protected areas that have bird watching booths for spotting (for further information click here ) or contact Taranto’s WWF branch, tel: 099/4527970. Following that, I would suggest a boat trip to the Due Mari (“Two Seas”) and also to the Cheradi (Islands of San Pietro and San Paolo): use AMAT ferries (timetable at http://www.amat.ta.it/idrovie.php) or with other ferry operators. You can spend time on the Island of San Peter (“Isola di San Pietro”) in the summer months.
Finally, I would like to make an observation on the eating and drinking habits of “Tarantini” (people from Taranto). They drink the locally produced Ninfole coffee, digestif “Amaro Borsci San Marzano”, Raffo beer and Primitivo wine (the sweeter the better and the more alcoholic the better). The typical apetiser for tarantini is fried hot panzerotti, a kind of fried mini-calzone and oysters eaten with a dash of lemon. And last but not least, a tarantino’s favorite sweet is maritozzo, a sweet brioche filled with whipped cream.