Taranto Audioguides

Taranto was founded by Spartan colonists around 706 BC as Taras, and for centuries it was the most powerful city of Magna Graecia, the Greek colonial world of southern Italy. The National Archaeological Museum of Taranto, known as MArTA, holds one of the finest collections of ancient Greek gold jewelry in the world, alongside terracotta figurines, painted vases, and sculptures that demonstrate just how sophisticated this coastal civilization was before Rome had become a significant power.

The old city, Citta Vecchia, sits on a small island between the Mar Grande and the Mar Piccolo, two bodies of water with entirely different characters.

The swing bridge connecting the island to the newer mainland city opens periodically to allow naval vessels through, a reminder that Taranto remains Italy's principal naval base. The city's mussels, grown on ropes suspended in the Mar Piccolo's brackish and plankton-rich water, are famous across Puglia, and a plate of cozze alla tarantina with bread to soak up the liquid is the most honest introduction to the city's food culture.