Taranto (town)

Naval base and port in Apulia region, southeast Italy, on the Gulf of Taranto, 80 km/50 mi southeast of Bari; population (2001 est) 201,400. It is an important commercial centre, and its steelworks are part of the new industrial complex of southern Italy. There are chemical and oil-refining industries, and oyster and mussel fisheries. It was founded in the 8th century BC by Sparta, and became a sovereign city of Magna Graecia, the Greek colonies in southern Italy; Taranto was powerful enough to resist the Romans until 272 BC.

The city was destroyed by the Arabs in 927 and was later rebuilt by the Byzantines. Taranto was taken by the Normans in 1063, and became a feudal principality subject to the Kingdom of Naples. There is a cathedral (11th–12th centuries) with a baroque fanglishade, and a castle (originally Byzantine, but rebuilt in 1480).

After La Spezia, Taranto is Italy's chief military port. It was the main base of the Italian fleet during World War II until an attack by a British torpedo bomber in December 1940 severely damaged several vessels, including three battleships. The fleet was relocated to bases on the west coast where they were less vulnerable to such attacks, but much of the Italian navy had been caught and destroyed at Taranto.