Taranto - a town of gritty beauty

Working the Docks

Taranto - an amazing city of industrial chimneys and factories, juxtaposed with fabulous waterways and harbours: a city of purple hazed skies and sparkling seas; a city of pleasure crafts and waterfront promenades alongside a twenty four hour port and a harbour of battleships at the ready.

Taranto has history by the handful. Its Borgo Antico is gritty, old and unadulteratedly true to its past. In fact it is lucky to have even survived its past, and its torrid role in the wars of the twentieth century. With its harbour having always been a crucial home to Italy's naval fleet this beleagured city has found itself a target in any conflict. The Borgo Antico is constricted by a boundary of seas on all sides. Here the old city survives, tattered, ragged and real. Its colours are pealing, its walls are patched and repaired. Interspersed amongst its narrow streets are the arches and the decorative lights that bring so many Italian towns to life in the dusk.

Taranto is known as the Town of Two Seas.  - Mare Grande and Mare Piccolo. Bridges link the sides of an inlet separating the seas, except when the great swing bridge is lifted to allow access to the inner harbours. The protected nature of the harbour makes it a sought after berth for the many fishing boats which trawl the Ionian Coast.

At the entry to the Mare Grande is the Aragonese Castle. This castle was used as a fort to help protect the harbour, and then also as a prison in times past. The castle may look untouched by the battles which raged, but in fact it is magnificently repaired to its former glory. Its rounded battlements, its squat walls and tiny windows present an impregnable face to the ocean.

Beautiful Taranto is the holder of one astonishing statistic -  it has been declared the most polluted city not just in Italy but also in Western Europe. This unenviable title owes its origin to the industries and in particular the steel mills which are scattered around the edges of Taranto. Although work is being done to reduce emissions and control pollution in the area, the fight is by no means won. Just one more battle in this city's long and difficult history.

Astonishingly the city remains a city of great charm and beauty. For a large city it remains compact and walkable.

Its divided parts create pockets of history, areas of intimacy and architecture unlike any other city in Italy. Its harbours, bridges and boardwalks define a multitude of quarters, each with a unique style and attraction, all against a background of tall chimneys and billowing clouds rising up into the sky.

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All the Way to Anzio, Italy

A Visit to Anzio 

As you head south and begin to leave the great metropolis of Rome behind, it takes a surprisingly small amount of time to move beyond the urban madness to find those pockets of unspoilt innocence that lend colour to any journey.

Anzio - less than an hour from Rome - has a commercial centre that serves its purpose. But head to the harbour. This seaside promontory is something special. The elongated port is lined with small boats and fishermen on -selling their day's catch. Restaurants edge the pier, with their roll-up canvas awnings and ever-changing views stretching out across the water. Here, the freshest of fish can be enjoyed and the salt air just adds to the flavour.

Anzio as a town has had to endure a lot. World War II was not kind to Anzio. Nettuno -  the neighbouring town -  and Anzio were the sites of several critical battles during this most gruesome of wars, and there was significant loss of life in these towns.




Allied bombing did take its toll on Anzio but a number of villas survived and are landmarks today. In particular a villa belonging to Cicero - yes, that most famous of Roman politicians and orators, - dominates the hillside overlooking Anzio's vibrant harbour. Popes, cardinals and emperors all enjoyed the charms of Anzio as it developed into a town of summer residences for the wealthiest citizens of Rome.













Today Anzio is a much more humble town, in many respects rebuilt almost from scratch due to war, yet retaining enough of the old to still have a charm all its own.


In Anzio expensive pleasure boats dock alongside tiny fishing boats. 1950s apartments rub shoulders with sixteenth century villas. Tourists sit with locals. Fishermen studiously ignore photographers. The tree-covered hillside grounds of the ancient villas spill down almost to the water's edge.








For such a mistreated town it is astonishing that such colour, vibrancy and charm has managed to hold on and re-emerge despite its trials.

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