Gulf of Taranto

The Gulf of Taranto (Italian: Golfo di Taranto) is a bay on the north end of the Ionian Sea between the foothills at the southern end of the Italian peninsula, so the heel of Apulia ( Puglia ) to the east and the top of the boot Calabria ( Calabria ) in the west. In between are the coastal areas of Basilicata. The Gulf extends over hundreds of kilometers and is bordered by pine groves, gravel and sandy beaches as well as steeply sloping into the sea cliffs that offer a varied landscape. The crystal clear and deep blue sea is known for its abundance of fish and especially popular with divers.

By Presidential Decree No. 816 of 26 April 1977, the Golf is considered a " historic bay " and is therefore always considered by Italy as an inland sea with full jurisdiction of the Italian State. To make the historicity claims appeal is made to the file and regulations of the Italian Empire and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Roman historian Appian cited by the treatise between Taranto and Rome in the year 303 BC, the exclusivity of shipping fisheries, customs rights, military servitude and cabotage firmly laid. In World War I a shipping ban was imposed for military reasons.

This interpretation has been repeatedly criticized by the governments of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Malta. The argument certainly seems to be left for a long fall, also for better military relations between the governments: So an important naval base of NATO has its headquarters in the Gulf of Taranto.

In the Gulf are the islands Cheradi, the container terminal of Taranto and the Marina Molo Eligio, and Campo Marino Maruggio, Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca.

The most important locations on the Gulf of Taranto are to Tarentum (Taranto ):

  • Corigliano Calabro ( with the hamlet Schiavonea on the coast )
  • Crotone ( in the far west and beyond)
  • Gallipoli
  • Nardo Galatone
  • Rossano

And from ancient times still further:

  • Heraclea
  • Metapontum
  • Siris
  • Sybaris
  • Thurii

Curiosity

  • The " Clementine from the Gulf of Taranto ", an Italian IGP ( Geographic Indication Protetta ) product, is a cross between mandarin and orange.
  • In the Mar Grande of Taranto at Capo San Vito you can admire the Cristo del Mare at a depth of 8 m.
Cheradi Islands Gallipoli, Apulia Classical antiquity Heraclea Lucania Metaponto History of Taranto Magna Graecia Integrated Authority File
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