Taranto

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Overview

The once-mighty Greek-Spartan colony of Taras is, today, a city of two distinct parts – a mildewed centro storico on a small artificial island protecting a lagoon (the Mar Piccolo), and a swankier new city replete with wide avenues laid out in a formal grid. The contrast between the two is sudden and sharp: the diminutive old town with its muscular Aragonese castle harbours a downtrodden, almost derelict air, while the larger new city is busier, plusher and bustling with commerce.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Taranto

Taranto

Sitting unassumingly in a side street in Taranto's new town is one of Italy's most important archaeological museums, chiefly dedicated to the archaeology…
Castello Aragonese

Taranto

Guarding the swing bridge that joins the old and new parts of town, this impressive 15th-century structure, built on Norman and Byzantine predecessors,…
Cathedral

Taranto

The 11th-century cathedral is one of Puglia's oldest Romanesque buildings and an extravagant treat. It's dedicated to San Cataldo, an Irish monk who lived…
Temple of Poseidon

Taranto

This 6th-century BC Doric temple is one of the few visible remains of the once-great Greek colony of Taras. The last two surviving columns and the…
Palazzo del Governo

Taranto

The gigantic rust-red 1930s Palazzo del Governo, inaugurated by Mussolini, is a forbidding and masculine structure, expressive of the fascist ideas of…