Taranto Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Taranto

Located in Apulia in southern Italy, Taranto is a coastal city situated along the Ionian Sea and serves as the capital of its namesake province. Positioned on a plain running northwest to southeast below the Murgia plateau, it is widely recognized as the "city of two seas." Its physical geography is defined by two primary bodies of water: an outer bay known as the Big Sea (Mar Grande) and an inner saltwater lagoon called the Little Sea (Mar Piccolo). An artificial island, created by digging a canal during the construction of the Aragonese Castle, forms the historical center of the city between these two water bodies.

The municipal setting is closely connected to its surrounding waters. The Big Sea is sheltered from the open gulf by the Cheradi Islands—specifically the islets of San Pietro and San Paolo—around which populations of dolphins and other cetaceans reside. The inner Little Sea is split into two sections by the Ponte Punta Penna Pizzone and receives freshwater from the Galeso River. Submerged freshwater springs known locally as citri discharge into the marine basins, creating unique salinity conditions that foster traditional fishing and mussel cultivation.

Established in 706 BC by Dorian Greek immigrants from Sparta, the settlement was originally named Taras after a mythical figure depicted on ancient coinage as riding a dolphin. It developed into one of the most prominent city-states of Magna Graecia, reaching a peak of influence in the fourth century BC under the military and political leadership of Archytas. During antiquity, it was a major center for silver coinage and decorated red-figure pottery featuring mythological and shrine motifs. The city eventually fell under Roman control following the Pyrrhic War and later became the capital of the Norman Principality of Taranto.

In modern history, Taranto remains a major maritime center, functioning as a primary commercial port and the central base for the Italian navy. During World War II, its harbor was the site of the November 1940 Battle of Taranto, which represented the first all-aircraft naval attack against a fleet at anchor. Between 1947 and 1951, the city also hosted the Taranto Prize, a biennial cultural gathering focused on literature and visual arts themed around the sea.

The urban layout connects the old central island to the mainland via the Ponte Girevole and the Ponte di Porta Napoli. Beyond its naval infrastructure, the city's economic activities include shipbuilding, oil refining, food processing, and heavy industrial manufacturing. Taranto experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild springs with occasional sudden cold spells, a relatively low average annual precipitation of 425 millimeters, and warm, humid summers with temperatures averaging around 29 degrees Celsius.