15 Facts About Taranto

Taranto is the third-largest continental city in southern Italy, with well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, naval shipyards and food-processing factories.

Taranto is known for the large population of dolphins and other cetaceans living near these islands.

Natural harbor at Taranto made it a logical home port for the Italian naval fleet before and during the First World War.

In geology, Taranto gives its name to the Tarantian Age of the Pleistocene Epoch.

On 28 November 2012 a large F3 tornado hit the port of Taranto and damaged the Taranto Steel Mill; about 20 workers were injured, and another man was reported missing.

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Taranto was founded in 706 BC by Dorian Greek immigrants hailing from Sparta.

Taranto increased its power, becoming a commercial power and a sovereign city of Magna Graecia, ruling over the Greek colonies in southern 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, who surprised Rome with the use of war elephants in battle, a thing never seen before by the Romans.

The attack struck the battle fleet of the Regia Marina at anchor in the harbour of Taranto, using aerial torpedoes despite the shallowness of the water.

Municipality of Taranto was declared bankrupt effective 31 December 2005, having accrued liabilities of €637 million.

In 1991 Taranto was declared a high environmental risk area by the Ministry of Environment.

In 2014, the Italian National Institute of Emissions and their Sources, stated that Taranto stands third in the world behind China's Linfen, and Copsa Mica in Romania, the most polluted cities in the world due to factories' emissions.

The 17th century de Beaumont-Bonelli-Bellacicco palace houses the Spartan Museum of Taranto - Hypogeum Bellacicco which extends below street and sea level to the hypogeum that is a crossroads with other hypogeum of Old City which together form the system of subterranean Taranto.

Taranto's cuisine is characterised by local products, especially vegetables and fish like artichokes, eggplants, tomatoes, olives, onions, shrimps, octopus, sardines, squid and, above all, mussels.

Some of the most traditional dishes of Taranto are mussels alla puppitegna or the impepata ("full of pepper" in Italian) or spaghetti with mussels, or Tubettini with mussles.