Taranto, Italy Tourism

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and the Mare Piccolo, which runs deep inland on the northeast side of the town. From here a bridge leads to the Borgo, an industrial suburb (large steelworks) to the northwest, which in turn is linked by a swing bridge with the new town, situated on a peninsula, to the south of the old town.

The port is also a considerable industrial and commercial town, which ranks with La Spezia as one of Italy's two principal naval bases. Taranto is renowned for its honey and fruit. Fishing and the culture of oysters and shellfish also make a contribution to the town's economy.

History

The town (Greek Taras, Latin Tarentum) was founded by Spartan settlers in 708 B.C., and by the fourth century B.C. was the most powerful city in Magna Graecia. In the time of Augustus it still had a predominantly Greek population, but thereafter it was Romanised. In A.D. 494 it was occupied by the Ostrogoths, and in 540 came under Byzantine rule. Taranto was destroyed by the Saracens in 927 but was rebuilt, and in 1063 was incorporated by Robert Guiscard in the Norman kingdom of southern Italy. Thereafter Taranto shared the destinies of the kingdom of Naples.