2 0 6 Taranto is a compelling destination that provides access to many of Puglia’s tourism hotspots. Jon Ingleton reports on the highlights from a recent visit to Skuma trip hosted by the Port Network of the Ionian Sea MEDITERRANEAN: REPORT Unexpected Italy The Spartans first occupied old Taranto in 706 BC and their legacy lives on today in the spirit of the city’s inhabitants as this proud community fights to rebuild the old town and restore its prosperous past. The Port Network of the Ionian Sea is an active participant, leading restorative initiatives across both the old and new areas of town, and it adeptly guided us around the town and the region’s tourism highlights. The 15th-century Castello Aragonese is the most recognisable landmark in the city, built on top of previous Byzantine fortifications. Shaped vaguely like a scorpion and sitting on a rocky bank, the castle was built from stone excavated from the seabed between 1487 and 1492 at the request of the King of Naples. Now occupied by the Italian navy, the castle’s magnificence and bewitching stories combine to provide cruise visitors with an unmissable tour, further enhanced by the architectural ingenuity of the swing bridge it guards. Opposite the castle stand the two surviving Doric columns of the Temple of Poseidon, which is now thought to have been dedicated to a female deity. Dating back to 580-570BC, the temple is the oldest in Magna Graecia (the name for the coastal areas of Southern Italy colonised by the ancient Greeks). While the remains provide only a small ruinous visual perspective of bygone times, they deliver a mindful reminder of the city’s rich history. From the temple it is just a short stroll along the bank of Mar Grande to the Cattedrale di San Cataldo, one of the oldest and most glorious examples of Romanesque architecture in Southern Italy. The Byzantines commenced building works in 1071 and the cathedral continuously evolved CFR’s Jon Ingleton (front centre) with fellow visitors to the Castello Aragonese in Taranto
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