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Taranto: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Taranto
In 706 BC, a group of men known as the Partheniae arrived in Apulia to establish a new city. These founders were not typical Spartan citizens. They were sons born from unions between unmarried Spartan women and Perioeci, free men who lacked full citizenship rights. Sparta had permitted these relationships during the Messenian Wars to increase the number of potential soldiers. Later, the state nullified the marriages and ordered the sons to leave Greece forever.
Phalanthus led this exiled group to Delphi to consult an oracle. The puzzling answer designated the harbor of Taranto as their new home. Upon arrival, they named the settlement Taras after the mythical hero, son of Poseidon and a local nymph. Some traditions claim Heracles founded the city instead. The symbol of the Greek city depicted Taras being saved from a shipwreck by riding a dolphin sent by Poseidon.
By 500 BC, the population reached an estimated 300,000 people. This made it one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Archytas ruled for seven years, marking the apex of development. He served as strategos, or general, seven consecutive times, violating their own rule against successive appointments. His campaigns against southern Italian neighbors remained undefeated.
Roman Conquest And The Pyrrhic War
In 303 BC, Sparta sent Cleonymus with mercenary armies to help Tarentum fight Lucanians and the Roman Republic. The conflict escalated when Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, intervened on behalf of the Greeks. He surprised Rome with war elephants at the battle of Heraclea, a weapon never seen before by Roman forces.
The Pyrrhic victory at Asculum was followed by a loss at Beneventum in 275 BC. Tarentum surrendered to Rome after Pyrrhus died in Peloponnese in 272 BC. This surrender ended the independence of the city. It subsequently cut off Taranto from Mediterranean trade centers. The Romans connected the Via Appia directly to the port of Brundisium instead.
Archytas had been the dominant figure in the first half of the fourth century. His political influence rivaled Pericles in Athens fifty years earlier. The Tarentines elected him strategos seven years in a row despite their laws prohibiting such repeated terms. His military leadership ensured that Tarentine campaigns against local rivals remained successful until the Roman expansion changed the balance of power.
The Partheniae, sons born from unions between unmarried Spartan women and Perioeci free men, established the city. Phalanthus led this exiled group to Delphi before they settled at the harbor designated by an oracle.
When did British naval forces attack Italian ships in Taranto harbor during World War II?
British naval forces attacked Italian ships at anchor in Taranto harbor on the night of the 12th of November 1940. Admiral Andrew Cunningham commanded the Royal Navy against Admiral Inigo Campioni's Regia Marina in history's first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack.
Why is Taranto known as the city of two seas today?
Taranto earns its name as the city of two seas because Big Sea washes the northwest side while Little Sea surrounds the peninsula of the old city. The territory extends across land mostly underwater due to three natural peninsulas and a man-made island formed during castle construction.
What caused the high environmental risk declaration for Taranto in 1991?
Pollutants discharged into the air by factories caused severe damage leading to the declaration as a high environmental risk area from the Ministry of Environment. The ILVA steel plant part of Gruppo Riva contributed significantly to the crisis with ninety-three percent of pollution originating from industrial facilities.
Who designed Aragon Castle in Taranto between 1486 and 1492?
King Ferdinand II of Aragon ordered construction of Aragon Castle designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. It replaced a ninth-century Byzantine fortress deemed unfit for fifteenth-century warfare and protected the city from frequent Turkish raids until 1707 when it ceased military use.
Taras issued its own coins during the fifth and fourth centuries BC. These silver pieces were called Nomos and featured controlled weight, size, and purity regulated by the state. The obverse displayed Taras riding a dolphin sent by Poseidon. The reverse showed a hippocamp, a horse-fish creature drawing Poseidon's chariot.
A thriving pottery industry flourished in the fourth century BC. Most South Italian Greek vessels known as Basilican ware came from workshops within the city. No artist names survived from this period. Modern scholars assigned nicknames like Iliupersis Painter or Lycurgus Painter based on subject matter or museum collections.
These workshops produced large elaborate vessels for mortuary use. Forms included volute kraters, loutrophoroi, paterai, oinochoai, lekythoi, and fish plates. Decoration used red figure techniques with black gloss backgrounds. Overpainting added white, pink, yellow, and maroon slips to the designs. Floral motifs became ornate with spiraling vines, roses, lilies, poppies, laurel sprays, and acanthus leaves. Naiskos scenes showing statues of deceased persons occupied one side while mythological scenes filled the other.
The Night Attack Of November 1940
On the night of 11, the 12th of November 1940, British naval forces attacked Italian ships at anchor in Taranto harbor. Admiral Andrew Cunningham commanded the Royal Navy against Admiral Inigo Campioni's Regia Marina. The operation marked history's first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack.
Twenty-one Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers launched from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea. They struck the battle fleet despite shallow water conditions that usually prevented torpedoes from functioning effectively. The attack demonstrated a new tactical approach to naval warfare.
The event occurred during World War II between British and Italian forces. The strike targeted the Regia Marina fleet anchored within the harbor. Aerial torpedoes were used successfully even though the water depth was insufficient for standard operations. This surprise assault changed how navies approached future engagements.
Dioxin Emissions And Health Consequences
In 1991, Taranto received a declaration as a high environmental risk area from the Ministry of Environment. Pollutants discharged into the air by factories caused severe damage. The ILVA steel plant, part of Gruppo Riva, contributed significantly to the crisis. Sevent percent of pollution came from public sources while ninety-three percent originated from industrial facilities.
By 2005, European Pollutant Emission Register estimates showed dioxin emissions from the ILVA plant accounted for eighty-three percent of Italy's total reported output. Every year the city faced exposure to massive amounts of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. In 2014, the Italian National Institute of Emissions ranked Taranto third globally behind Linfen in China and Copşa Mică in Romania due to factory emissions.
Between 1995 and 2004, leukaemias, myelomas, and lymphomas increased by thirty to forty percent. Over nine kilos of dioxin accumulated in the city's air from these factories. Grazing became banned within one kilometer of the ILVA plant. In 2013, special administration placed the plant under government control after accusations that toxic emissions caused at least four hundred premature deaths.
The Old City And Street Art Revival
The Old City or Città Vecchia retains the street layout established in 967 AD when Byzantines rebuilt what Saracen troops had destroyed in 927 AD. Four main arteries run straight through the area while side streets remain narrow and winding to impede invading armies. The district sits entirely on an artificial island between Big Sea and Little Sea.
In 1746, the entire population resided within the Old City walls. This density necessitated building additional stories onto existing narrow houses. By 2013, only about one thousand people lived there despite the wider city exceeding two hundred thousand inhabitants. The nobility and clergy occupied Baglio and San Pietro quarters while artisans and fishermen dwelled in Ponte and Turipenne.
Between 2013 and 2014, Neapolitan urban artists Cyop and Kaf decorated derelict buildings with one hundred twenty representations of street art. They painted walls and doors throughout the piazzi and vicoli. This project transformed abandoned districts into striking features of modern Taranto. The initiative focused on revitalizing spaces like Via di Mezzo where old palazzi stood alongside new artistic expressions.
Aragon Castle And Coastal Geography
King Ferdinand II of Aragon ordered construction of Aragon Castle between 1486 and 1492. Designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, it replaced a ninth-century Byzantine fortress deemed unfit for fifteenth-century warfare. The castle protected the city from frequent Turkish raids until 1707 when it ceased military use and became a prison under Napoleon Bonaparte before reverting to naval function.
Taranto faces the Ionian Sea at an elevation above sea level. The territory extends across land mostly underwater due to three natural peninsulas and a man-made island formed during castle construction. The city earns its name as the city of two seas because Big Sea washes the northwest side while Little Sea surrounds the peninsula of the old city.
The Big Sea separates from the Ionian Sea via Capo San Vito and the Isole Cheradi islands. These islands form part of the ILVA steelworks complex. Little Sea functions as a lagoon with water exchange problems divided by Ponte Punta Penna Pizzone. Underwater springs called citri carry undrinkable freshwater mixed with salt water creating ideal conditions for cultivating Mediterranean mussels known locally as cozze.