Battle of Taranto Part of the Mediterranean Theater of World War II Taranto naval base in the 1930s Date 11–12 November 1940 Location Taranto, Italy Result Decisive British victory[1] Belligerents  United Kingdom Italy Commanders and leaders Andrew Cunningham Lumley Lyster Inigo Campioni Strength 21 torpedo bombers 1 aircraft carrier 2 heavy cruisers 2 light cruisers 5 destroyers 6 battleships 9 heavy cruisers 7 light cruisers 13 destroyers Casualties and losses 2 killed 2 captured 2 aircraft shot down 59 killed 600 wounded 1 battleship destroyed 2 battleships damaged 2 aircraft destroyed

v t e Battle of the Mediterranean U-boat Campaign Club Run¹ Malta Convoys¹ Espero ¹² Mers-el-Kébir Calabria¹² Cape Spada Hurry Cape Passero¹ Taranto Strait of Otranto² White ¹ Cape Spartivento¹ Excess ¹ Abstention Souda Bay Matapan Tarigo ² Crete Substance ¹ Halberd ¹ Duisburg ² Bon² 1st Sirte¹² Alexandria raid 2nd Sirte¹ Calendar Harpoon ¹ Vigorous ¹ Pedestal ¹ Agreement Torch Stone Age ¹ Toulon Portcullis ¹ Skerki² Algiers¹ Cigno ² Sicily Gela Olterra's campaign¹ Sinking of Roma Dodecanese Campaign Cape Bougaroun¹ Port Cros La Ciotat ¹ — Involved an Allied convoy ² — Involved an Axis convoy

The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history, flying a small number of obsolescent biplane torpedo bombers from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea. The attack struck the battle fleet of the Regia Marina at anchor in the harbour of Taranto utilizing aerial torpedoes despite the shallow depth of the harbour. The devastation wrought by the British carrier-launched aircraft on the large Italian warships was the beginning of the rise of the power of naval aviation, over the big guns of battleships.

Origins[link]

Long before the First World War, the Italian Royal Navy's First Squadron was based at Taranto. In that period, the British Royal Navy developed plans for countering the power of the Regia Marina (Italian Navy). Blunting the power of any adversary in the Mediterranean Sea was an ongoing exercise. Plans for the capture of the port at Taranto were considered as early as the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935.^[2]

During 1940–41, Italian Army operations in North Africa, based in Libya, required a supply line from Italy. The British Army's North African Campaign, based in Egypt, suffered from much greater supply difficulties. Supply convoys to Egypt had to either cross the Mediterranean via Gibraltar and Malta, and then approach the coast of Sicily, or steam all the way around the Cape of Good Hope, up the whole east coast of Africa, and then through the Suez Canal, to reach Alexandria. Since the latter was a very long and slow route, this put the Italian fleet in an excellent position to interdict British supplies and reinforcements.

The British had won a number of actions, considerably upsetting the balance of power in the Mediterranean. Following the concept of a fleet in being, the Italians usually kept their warships in harbour. The Italian fleet at Taranto was powerful: six battleships (five battleworthy), seven heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and eight destroyers, making the threat of a sortie against British shipping a serious problem.

During the Munich Crisis of 1938, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, was concerned about the survival of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious in the face of Italian opposition in the Mediterranean. Pound ordered his staff to re-examine all plans for attacking Taranto.^[2] He was advised by the captain of Glorious, Arthur L. St.G. Lyster, that her Fairey TSR Swordfish were capable of a night attack, using aerial torpedoes. Indeed, the Fleet Air Arm was then the only naval aviation arm capable of it.^[2] Pound took Lyster's advice, and he ordered training to begin. Security was kept so tight there were no written records.^[2] Just a month before the war began, Pound knowingly advised his replacement, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, to consider the possibility. This came to be known as "Operation Judgement".^[3]

The fall of France and the consequent loss of the French fleet in the Mediterranean (even before "Operation Catapult") made redress essential. The older carrier, HMS Eagle, on Cunningham's strength, was ideal, possessing a very experienced air group composed entirely of Swordfish aircraft. Three Sea Gladiators were added for the operation.^[2] Firm plans were drawn up after the Italian Army halted at Sidi Barrani, which freed up the British Mediterranean Fleet.^[2]

Operation "Judgement" was just a small part of the over-arching "Operation MB8".^[2] It was originally scheduled to take place on 21 October 1940, Trafalgar Day, but a fire in an auxiliary fuel tank of one Swordfish led to a delay. (The 60 imp gal (270 L; 72 US gal) auxiliary tanks replaced the usual third crewman to extend the operating range enough to reach Taranto.) This minor fire spread into a more serious fire that destroyed two Swordfish.^[2] Then Eagle suffered a breakdown in her fuel system,^[2] so she was eliminated.

When the brand-new carrier HMS Illustrious, based at Alexandria, became available in the Mediterranean, she took on board five Swordfish from Eagle, and would launch the strike alone.^[4]

The complete naval task force, commanded by Rear Admiral Lyster,^[2] who had authored the plan of attack on Taranto, consisted of Illustrious, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and four destroyers. The 24^[2] attack Swordfish came from 813 Naval Air Squadron, 815 Naval Air Squadron, 819 Naval Air Squadron, and 824 Naval Air Squadron. The small number of attacking warplanes raised concern Judgement would only alert and enrage the Italian Navy without achieving any significant results.^[2] Illustrious also had fighters of 806 Naval Air Squadron aboard to provide air cover for the task force.

Fairey Swordfish carrying an aerial torpedo

Half of the Swordfish were armed with torpedoes as the primary strike aircraft, with the other half carrying aerial bombs and flares to carry out diversions.^[2] These torpedoes were fitted with Duplex magnetic / contact exploders, which were extremely sensitive to rough seas,^[2] as the attacks on the German battleship Bismarck later showed. There were also worries the torpedoes would bottom out in the harbour after being dropped.^[2] The loss rate for the bombers was expected to be fifty percent.^[2]

Several reconnaissance flights by Martin Maryland bombers (of the RAF's No. 431 General Reconnaissance Flight)^[2] flying from Malta confirmed the location of the Italian fleet. These flights produced photos on which the intelligence officer of Illustrious spotted previously unexpected barrage balloons, and the attack plan was changed accordingly.^[2] To make sure the Italian warships had not sortied, the British also sent over a Short Sunderland flying boat on the night of 11 November, just as the carrier task force was forming up about 170 nmi (200 mi; 310 km) from Taranto harbour, off the Greek island of Cephalonia. This reconnaissance flight alerted the Italian forces in southern Italy, but since they were without any radars, they could do little but wait for whatever came along. The Regia Marina could conceivably have gone to sea in search of any British naval force, but this was distinctly against the naval philosophy of the Italians between January 1940 and September 1943.

The complexity of "Operation MB8", with its various forces and convoys, succeeded in deceiving the Italians into thinking only normal convoying was underway. This contributed to the success of Judgement.^[2]

The attack[link]

The first wave of 12 A/C led by Lt.-Cdr. M. W. Williamson, 815 Sqn. left Illustrious just before 21:00 hours on 11 November 1940, followed by a second wave of nine about 90 minutes later. Of the second wave, one turned back with a problem with its auxiliary fuel tank, and one aircraft launched 20 minutes late, after requiring emergency repairs to damage from a minor taxiing accident.

The first wave, which consisted of a mixture of six Swordfish armed with aerial torpedoes and six with aerial bombs, was split into two sections when three of the bombers and one torpedo bomber strayed from the main force while flying through thin clouds. The smaller group continued to Taranto independently. The main group approached the harbour at 22:58. A flare was dropped east of the harbour and the flare dropper and another aircraft made a dive bombing attack to set fire to oil tanks. The next three aircraft, led by Lt Cdr K. Williamson RN of 815 Squadron, attacked over San Pietro Island, and struck the battleship Conte di Cavour with a torpedo that blasted a 27 ft (8.2 m) hole in her side below her waterline. Williamson's plane was immediately shot down by the anti-aircraft guns of the Italian battleship.^[5] The two remaining aircraft in this sub-flight continued, dodging barrage balloons and receiving heavy anti-aircraft fire from the Italian warships and shore batteries, to press home an unsuccessful attack on the battleship Andrea Doria. The next sub-flight of three attacked from a more northerly direction, attacking the battleship Littorio, hitting it with two torpedoes and launching one torpedo at the flagship—the battleship Vittorio Veneto—which failed to hit its target. The bomber force led by Capt O. Patch RN next attacked. They found the targets difficult to identify but attacked two cruisers from 1,500 ft (460 m) followed by another aircraft which straddled four destroyers.^[4]

The second wave of 9 A/C led by Lt.-Cdr. J. W. Hale, 819 Sqn.was now approaching, two of the four bombers also carrying flares, the remaining five carrying torpedoes. Flares were dropped shortly before midnight. Two aircraft aimed their torpedoes at Littorio, one of which hit home. One aircraft, despite having been hit twice by anti-aircraft fire, aimed a torpedo at Vittorio Veneto but that torpedo missed its target. One aircraft hit the battleship Caio Duilio with a torpedo blowing a large hole in her hull and flooding both of her forward magazines. The aircraft flown by Lt G. W. L. A. Bayly RN was shot down by antiaircraft fire from the heavy cruiser Gorizia^[5] while following the attack on Littorio, this being the only aircraft lost from the second wave. The final aircraft to arrive on the scene 15 minutes behind the others made a dive bombing attack on an Italian cruiser despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, and then made a safe getaway, returning to Illustrious at 02:39.^[4]

Of the two aircraft shot down, the two crew members of the first plane were taken prisoner. The other two fliers died in their plane.^[6]

The Italian battleships received very heavy damage:

• Conte di Cavour had a 12 × 8 m (39 × 26 ft) hole in the hull, and in the six hours following the attack all the attempts to save her failed (later, she was raised and partially repaired, but never regained service in the Navy, so she was in effect lost that night);^[7]
• Andrea Doria had only a slightly smaller hole (11 × 7 m (36 × 23 ft)) and was saved by running her aground;^[7]
• Littorio had considerable flooding caused by three torpedo strikes. Despite the underwater protection (Pugliese system, standard in all the Italian battleships), the damage was extensive. She suffered 32 crewmen lost and many wounded, and the ship was totally disabled. She was holed in three places, once on the port side (7 × 1.5 m (22 ft 10 in × 4 ft 10 in)), and twice on the starboard side (15 × 10 m (49 × 33 ft) and 12 × 9 m (39 × 30 ft)). She too was saved by running her aground. Despite this, in the morning the ship's bows were totally submerged.^[7]

Italian defences fired 13,489 shells from the land batteries, while several thousand were fired from the ships. The anti-aircraft barrage was, at least on paper, extremely powerful, having 101 guns and 193 machine-guns. There were also 87 balloons, but strong wind caused the loss of 60 of these. Additionally, only 4.2 km (2.3 nmi; 2.6 mi) of anti-torpedo nets were actually fielded around the ships, up to 10 m (33 ft) in depth, while the need was for 12.8 km (6.9 nmi; 8.0 mi). Finally, there were also 13 aerophonic stations and 22 searchlights (ships had two searchlights each).^[7]

Later, Littorio was repaired with all available resources, while repairs to the older battleships proceeded at a much slower pace (seven months for Doria, never completed for Cavour). In all, the Swordfish attack was made with just 21 aircraft. Two Italian aircraft were destroyed by the bombing, and two unexploded ordnance hit cruiser Trento and destroyer Libeccio. Near misses damaged destroyer Pessagno.^[7]

In the meanwhile, X-Force cruisers attacked an Italian convoy. This force had three cruisers (HMS Ajax, Orion and HMAS Sydney) and two Tribal-class destroyers (HMS Nubian and Mohawk). Just past midnight, they met and destroyed four Italian merchantmen (Capo Vado, Catalani, Locatelli and Premuda), damaging the torpedo-boat Fabrizi, while the auxiliary cruiser RAMB III fled.^[7]

Cunningham and Lyster wanted to strike Taranto again the next night with Swordfish (six torpedo-bombers, seven bombers, and two flare-dispensers), but bad weather prevented the action.^[7]

Aftermath[link]

The Italian fleet lost half of its capital ships in one night, and the next day the Regia Marina transferred its undamaged ships from Taranto to Naples to protect them from similar attacks.^[4] Repairs to Littorio took about five months, and to Caio Duilio six months; Conte di Cavour required extensive salvage work and her repairs were incomplete when Italy simultaneously surrendered in 1943 and declared war against Nazi Germany.^[8] Cunningham wrote after the attack: "The Taranto show has freed up our hands considerably & I hope now to shake these damned Itiys up a bit. I don't think their remaining three battleships will face us and if they do I'm quite prepared to take them on with only two." Indeed, balance of power had swung to British Mediterranean Fleet which now enjoyed more operational freedom: when previously forced to operate as one unit to match Italian capital ships, they could now split up to two battlegroups, each built around one aircraft carrier and two battleships.^[9]

However, Cunningham's estimate that Italians would be unwilling to risk their remaining heavy units was quickly proven wrong. Only five days after Taranto, Campioni sortied with two battleships, six cruisers and 14 destroyers to disrupt Operation White, aircraft supply convoy to Malta. Follow-up to this operation led to fleet action at Battle of Cape Spartivento on 27 November 1940. Two out of three damaged battleships were repaired by mid-1941 and battle for control of the Mediterranean continued to swing back and forth until Italian armistice in 1943.

Aerial torpedo experts in all modern navies had previously thought that torpedo attacks against ships must be in deep waters, of at least 30 m (98 ft) deep. The Taranto harbour had a water depth of only about 12 m (39 ft). However, the Royal Navy developed a new method of preventing torpedoes from diving too deep. A drum was attached beneath the nose of the aircraft, from which a roll of wire led to the nose of the torpedo. As the torpedo dropped, the tension from the wire pulled up the nose of the torpedo, producing a belly-flop rather than a nose dive.^[10] The British used wooden fins to break the dive of the torpedo,^[11] and it is likely that the Japanese took this idea from the British.^[12] The Imperial Japanese Navy's planning staff carefully studied the Taranto attack when planning their aerial torpedo attack on Attack on Pearl Harbor over a year later.^[13][14] The air attack on Pearl Harbor was a considerably larger operation than Taranto, with six fleet carriers, each one carrying an air wing that was more than double the number of planes that a British carrier had.^{[13] [14]}

Citations[link]

Taranto, and the night of November 11–12, 1940, should be remembered for ever as having shown once and for all that in the Fleet Air Arm the Navy has its most devastating weapon.
Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope - Admiral

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; with Stitt, Commander G.M.S; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C. & Toomer, Air Vice-Marshall S.E. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1954]. Butler, J.R.M. ed. Mediterranean and Middle East Volume I: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-065-3. 

Further reading[link]

• Lamb, Charles War in a Stringbag. Cassell and Collier Macmillan (1977) ISBN 0-304-29778-X
• Lowry, Thomas P & Wellham, John W.G. The Attack on Taranto: Blueprint for Pearl Harbor. Stackpole Books (1995) ISBN 0-8117-1726-7

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Battle of Taranto

• Battle of Taranto from Royal Navy's website
• La notte di Taranto – Plancia di Commando
• Order of battle

Coordinates: 40°27′4″N 17°12′27″E / 40.45111°N 17.2075°E / 40.45111; 17.2075

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2010)

Taranto
—  Comune  —
Comune di Taranto
Coat of arms
Taranto Location of Taranto in Italy
Coordinates: 40°28′N 17°14′E / 40.467°N 17.233°E / 40.467; 17.233Coordinates: 40°28′N 17°14′E / 40.467°N 17.233°E / 40.467; 17.233
Country	Italy
Region	Puglia
Province	Taranto (TA)
Frazioni	Talsano, Lido Azzurro, Lama, San Vito
Government
• Mayor	Ippazio Stefàno (SEL)
Area
• Total	209.64 km2 (80.94 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population (April 2012)
• Total	195 882
Demonym	Tarantini or Tarentini
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	74121-74122-74123
Dialing code	(+39)099
Patron saint	Saint Catald of Taranto
Saint day	May 10
Website	Official website

Taranto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtaːranto] ( listen); Latin: Tarentum; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς Tarās; Modern Greek: Τάραντας Tarantas; Tarantino "Tarde") is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base.^[1]

It is the third-largest continental city of Southern Italy: according to 2010 estimates, it has a population of 195 882.

Taranto is an important commercial and military port. It has well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, some shipyards for building warships, and food-processing factories.

Overview[link]

Taranto naval base for the Italian Regia Marina's First Squadron. (Photo from 1930s)

Taranto's pre-history dates back to 706 BC ^[2] when it was founded as a Greek colony. The ancient city was situated on a peninsula on which the modern city has been built over the ancient Greek city of which only a few ruins remain including part of the city wall, two temple columns dating to the 6th century BC and tombs.^[3]

The islets of S. Pietro and S. Paolo (St. Peter and St. Paul) protect the bay, called Mar Grande (Big Sea), where the commercial port is located. Another bay, called Mar Piccolo (Little Sea), is formed by the peninsula of the old city, and has flourishing fishing. Mar Piccolo is a military port with strategic importance.

At the end of the 19th century, a channel was excavated to allow the military ships to enter Mar Piccolo harbour, and the ancient Greek city become an island connected to the mainland by bridges. In addition, the islets and the coast are strongly fortified. Because of the presence of these two bays, Taranto is also called “the city of the two seas”.

The Greek colonists from Sparta called the city Taras (Τάρας), after the mythical hero Taras, while the Romans, who connected the city to Rome with an extension of the Appian way, called it Tarentum.

The natural harbor at Taranto made it a logical home port for the Italian naval fleet before and during the First World War. During World War II, Taranto became famous as a consequence of the November 1940 British air attack on the Regia Marina naval base stationed here, which today called the Battle of Taranto.

Taranto is also the origin of the common name of the Tarantula spider family, Theraphosidae, even though strictly speaking there are no members of Theraphosidae in the area. In ancient times, residents of the town of Taranto, upon being bitten by the large local Wolf Spider, Lycosa tarentula, would promptly do a long vigorous dance like a Jig. This was done in order to sweat the venom out of their pores, even though the spider's venom was not fatal to humans. The frenetic dance became known as the Tarantella.

Physical geography[link]

Aerial view of Taranto

<< While it is impossible to find port in most of the Gulf of Taranto, Taranto itself has a very beautiful and ample harbour surrounded by 100 stadia and enclosed by a large bridge. There is an isthmus between the main part of the harbour and the open sea, so the city lies on a peninsular. Because the neck of the isthmus is so low, boats can easily be pulled from one side to the other.>> (Strabo - Geografia, VI, 3, 1.)

Taranto faces the Ionian Sea. It is 15 metres above sea level. It was built on a plain running north/northwest - southeast, and surrounded by the Murgia plateau from the north west to the east. Its territory extends for 209,64 km2 and is mostly underwater. It is characterised by three natural peninsulars and a man-made island, formed by digging a ditch during the construction of Aragon Castle. The city is known as the "city of two seas" because it is washed by the Great Sea in the bay between Punta Rondinella to the northwest and Capo San Dante to the south, and by the vast reservoir of the Little Sea.

The city of two seas[link]

The Great Sea and the Little Sea[link]

The view of the Little Sea from the Appian Way

The Great Sea is frequently known as the Great Sea bay as that is where ships harbour. It is separated from the Little Sea by a cape which closes the gulf, leading to the artificial island. This island formed the heart of the original city and it's connected to the mainland by the Ponte di Porta Napoli and the Ponte Girevole. The Great Sea is separated from the Ionian Sea by the Capo San Vito, the Isole Cheradi of St Peter and St Paul, and the three islands of San Nicolicchio, which are completely incorporated by the steel plant. The latter form a little archipelago which close off the arc creating the natural Great Sea bay.

The Little Sea is considered to be a lagoon so it presents problems of water exchange. It is virtually divided into two by the Ponte Punta Penna Pizzone, which joins the Punta Penna to the Punta Pizzone. The first of these forms a rough triangle, whose corners are the opening to the east and the Porta Napoli channel linking it to the Great Sea in the west. The second half forms an ellipse whose major axis measures almost 5km from the south-west to the north-east. The Galeso river flows into the first half.

The two seas have slightly different winds and the tides and underwater springs of different salinities. These affect the currents on the surface and in the depths of the Great Sea and the two halves of the Little Sea. In the Great Sea and in the northern part of the Little Sea, there are some underwater springs called citri^[4], which carry undrinkable freshwater together with salt water. This creates the ideal biological conditions for cultivating Mediterranean mussels, known locally as cozze.

Climate[link]

<<That corner of earth is the brightest to me, where the honey gives nothing away to that of Hymettus, and its olives compete with green Venafrum: where Jupiter grants a lengthy spring, and mild winters, and Aulon’s hill-slopes, dear to fertile Bacchus, are filled with least envy for those rich grapes of Falernum>> (Horace - To Bacchus - Translated by A. S. Kline ^[5])

The climate of the city, recorded by the weather station situated near the Grottaglie Milirary Airport, is typical of the Mediterranean with frequent Continental features.

The spring is usually mild and rainy, but it's not uncommon to have sudden cold spells come in from the east, which often cause snowfall.

The summer is very hot and humid, with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees C.

Average temperatures recorded at Taranto meteorological station over the 30 years 1961-1990.

It is classified as Geographical zone C and having a degree-day of 30.

History[link]

Taranto was founded in 706 BC by Dorian Greek immigrants as the only Spartan colony,^[2] and its origin is peculiar: the founders were Partheniae ("sons of virgins"), sons of unmarried Spartan women and Perioeci (free men, but not citizens of Sparta); these out-of-wedlock unions were permitted extraordinarily by the Spartans to increase the prospective number of soldiers (only the citizens of Sparta could become soldiers) during the bloody Messenian wars, but later they were retroactively nullified, and the sons were then obliged to leave Greece forever. Phalanthus, the Parthenian leader, went to Delphi to consult the oracle: the puzzling answer designated the harbour of Taranto as the new home of the exiles. The Partheniae arrived in Apulia, and founded the city, naming it Taras after the son of the Greek sea god, Poseidon, and of a local nymph, Satyrion. According to other sources, Heracles founded the city. Another tradition indicates Taras as the founder of the city; the symbol of the Greek city (as well as of the modern city) depicts the legend of Taras being saved from a shipwreck by riding a dolphin that was sent to him by Poseidon. Taranto increased its power, becoming a commercial power and a sovereign city of Magna Graecia,^[6] ruling over the Greek colonies in southern Italy. Its independence and power came to an end as the Romans expanded throughout Italy. Taranto won the first of two wars against Rome for the control of Southern Italy: it was helped by Pyrrhus, king of Greek Epirus,^[6] who surprised Rome with the use of elephants in battle, a thing never seen before by the Romans. The second war was conversely won by Rome, which subsequently cut off Taranto from the centre of Mediterranean trade, by connecting the Via Appia directly to the port of Brundisium (Brindisi).

Taranto as a centre of ancient art[link]

Like many Greek city states, Taras issued its own coins in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. The denomination was a Nomos, a die-cast silver coin whose weight, size and purity were controlled by the state. The highly artistic coins presented the symbol of the city, Taras being saved by a dolphin, with the reverse side showing the likeness of a hippocamp, a horse-fish amalgam which is depicted in mythology as the beast that drew Poseidon's chariot.

Taras was also the center of a thriving decorated Greek pottery industry during the 4th century BC. Most of the South Italian Greek vessels known as Basilican ware were made in different workshops in the city.

Unfortunately, none of the names of the artists have survived, so modern scholars have been obliged to give the recognizable artistic hands and workshops nicknames based on the subject matter of their works, museums which possess the works, or individuals who have distinguished the works from others. Some of the most famous of the Apulian vase painters at Taras are now called: the Iliupersis Painter, the Lycurgus Painter, the Gioia del Colle Painter, the Darius Painter, the Underworld Painter, and the White Sakkos Painter, among others.

The wares produced by these workshops were usually large elaborate vessels intended for mortuary use. The forms produced included volute kraters, loutrophoroi, paterai, oinochoai, lekythoi, fish plates, etc. The decoration of these vessels was red figure (with figures reserved in red clay fabric, while the background was covered in a black gloss), with overpainting (sovradipinto) in white, pink, yellow, and maroon slips.

Often the style of the drawings are very florid, and frilly, as was already the fashion in Fourth-Century Athens. Distinctive South Italian features also begin to appear. Many figures are shown seated on rocks. Floral motifs become very ornate, including spiraling vines and leaves, roses, lilies, poppies, sprays of laurel, acanthus leaves, etc. Often the subject matter consists of naiskos scenes (scenes showing the statue of a deceased person in a naos, a miniature temple or shrine). Most often the naiskos scene occupies one side of the vase, while a mythological scene occupies the other. Images depicting many of the Greek myths are only known from South Italian vases, since Athenian ones seem to have had more limited repertoires of depiction.

Ancient coin from Taranto, with the eponym Taras hero riding a dolphin.   Collection of ceramics produced in Taranto ca. 580 BC. Taranto Archaeological National Museum   Bronze and gold nutcracker, late 4th-early 3rd century BC. Taranto Archaeological National Museum   Horace, Ode to Septimius - Celebrating plate.

Environment[link]

Aerial view of Taranto.

In 1991 Taranto was declared a high environmental risk area by the Ministry of Environment. As a consequence of the poisons discharged into the air by the factories in the area (most notably the ILVA steel plant), Taranto is the most polluted city in Italy and western Europe. Only 7% of Taranto's pollution is inhabitants-related: 93% is factories-related. The European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER) showed that in 2004, estimated dioxin emissions from the ILVA plant were responsible for 83% of Italy's total reported emissions.^[7]

Every year Taranto's inhabitants inhale 2.7 tons of carbon monoxide and 57.7 tons of carbon dioxide. The latest data provided by the INES, the Italian national institute of emissions and their sources (Inventario nazionale delle emissioni e loro sorgenti), confirm that Taranto stands comparison with China's Linfen and Copşa Mică in Romania, the most polluted cities in the world due to factories' emissions.

In particular, Taranto has dioxin. 92% of Italy's dioxin is produced there and, in other terms, 8.8% of the dioxin in Europe. In ten years, leukaemias, myelomas and lymphomas increased by 30–40%. Furthermore, dioxin accumulates over the years: so far at least 9 kilos of dioxin have been discharged into Taranto's air by its factories, i.e. three times the quantity discharged in the Seveso disaster (the one in 1976 where the Italian city Seveso was contaminated by dioxin).

Municipal bankruptcy[link]

The Municipality of Taranto was declared bankrupt because - as ascertained by Francesco Boccia, chief of the liquidation committee - as of 31 December 2005, it had accrued liabilities in an amount equal to 637 million euros. This is one of the biggest financial crises which has ever hit a municipality.

The fact that the municipality went bankrupt was officially declared on 18 October 2006 by the receiver Tommaso Blonda, appointed further to the resignation of the mayor, Rossana Di Bello, following her one-year-and-four-months imprisonment after her conviction for abuse of office and documental forgery in relation to investigations made on the contract for the management of the city incinerator given to the company Termomeccanica.

Main sights[link]

Taranto has a number of sites of historic value. Sitting along the Little Sea, The Aragonese Castle was built in the 15th century with the intention to protect the town from the Turks' frequent raids. The castle replaced a pre-existing fort which was deemed unfit for 15th century warfare.

The old town, including Piazza Fontana, the church of San Domenico, the Madonna della Salute Sanctuary, and a number of old palazzi, is standing exactly as it did a thousand years ago, when the Byzantines rebuilt what the Saracens had razed to the ground in 927 AC. The picturesque alleyways, arches and stairwells, along with the old crafts workshops, contribute to its unique atmosphere.

Taranto features several Greek temple ruins - some stretching as far back as the 6th century BC - such as the remains of a Doric Temple still visible on Piazza Castello.

A number of 18th-century palazzi adorn the town centre. For years, they served as the main residence of local aristocratic families and these include Palazzo Carducci-Artenisio (1650), Palazzo Galeota (1728) and Palazzo Latagliata.

The Ponte Girevole (swing bridge), built in 1887, runs across the navigable ship canal that joins Mar Piccolo (Little Sea) with Mar Grande (Big Sea) and stretches along 89.9 meters or 294.95 ft. When the bridge is open, the two ends of the city are literally left without connection.

A really important institution of Taranto is the "Galileo Ferraris" high school, founded in 1848, located in via Mascherpa 10. This school is famous for its highly-developed level of instruction, due to the high quality of its teachers and students. Others schools are: IIS Archita, IIS Quinto Ennio, IIS Aristosseno, and ITIS Pacinotti.

The Promenade (lungomare), named after former Italian king Victor Emmanuel III, overlooks the Mar Grande, with the imposing views of its natural harbour and commercial port.

Society[link]

Demographic evolution[link]

Census populations <timeline> Colors=

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International relations[link]

Taranto is twinned with:

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• Sparta, Greece.
• Brest, France; since 1964 ^[8].
• Donetsk, Ukraine; a sister city since 1985 ^[9].
• Alicante, Spain; since 2010.
• Islamabad, Pakistan; since 2010.

Notable people[link]

These historical figures have had a relationship with the city. Not all of them were actually born in Taranto.

• Archytas of Tarentum, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, strategist and commander-in-chief of the army of Taranto;
• Philolaus, mathematician and philosopher.
• Aristoxenus, peripatetic philosopher, and writer on music and rhythm;
• Leonidas of Tarentum, poet;
• Lysis of Tarentum, philosopher;
• Rhinthon (c. 323–285 BC), dramatist;
• Livius Andronicus, poet;
• Titus Quinctius Flamininus, propraetor of Tarentum;
• Pacuvius, tragic poet, died in Tarentum in 130 BC;
• Cataldus, archbishop and patron saint of Taranto;
• Bohemond of Taranto, key military leader on the First Crusade
• Gil Albornoz, archbishop of Taranto in 1644;
• Giovanni Paisiello, composer;
• Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Napoleonic army general and novelist, died in Taranto;
• Etienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (1765–1840), duke of Taranto and marshal of France;
• Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, rumoured to have been born here and not Rome as was first assumed.
• Michael of Taranto, Master hazmat chief of the east coast and creator of the stamp and go method.
• Riccardo Tisci, fashion designer, creative director of Givenchy
• Roberta Vinci, professional tennis player.

Citations[link]

Dearest of all to me is that nook of earth
which yields not to Hymettus for its honey, nor for its olive to green Venafrum;
where heaven grants a long springtime and warmth in winter,
and in the sunny hollows Bacchus fosters a vintage noble as the Falernian.

—Horace, To Septimius (Odes, II. 6, 13-20)

Dicas adductum propius frondere Tarentum.

—Horace, To his friend Quinctius, telling that a lovely place in country may look like the leafy Taranto. (Epistula I, 16, 11)

Miscellaneous[link]

• Star of David: "A David's shield has recently been noted on a Jewish tombstone at Tarentum, in southern Italy, which may date as early as the third century of the common era."
• Tarentum was included in the hit PC game Rome: Total War as the governing settlement for Apulia as well as the capital of the Roman Faction of Brutii
• Taranto fortress is the sign of this city.

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Look up taranto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Taranto

• Official website
• Taranto Jewish History
• Culture Centre Filonide
• Hotel Palace
• Tourism in Taranto
• Holy Week Rites in Taranto, Italy (website in English and Spanish)
• MARTA: Museo nazionale ARcheologico TAranto (Taranto Archaeological National Museum)
• Word of the Day: Tarantula and Tarantella, From Taranto, etymology and folklore