New Year's Eve Taranto

For those who may not resist to a New Year at the taranta salentina rythm, Taranto is one of most suitable destinations!
Real pearl of the Salento, the city is situated within a gulf that has the same name, and it is bathed by the Ionian Sea.
It is precisely its perfect position that in the centuries assured the town the role of an important Mediterranean port, a role that still today Taranto has preserved, such as one of the main port on the Mediterranean routes.
Its history is very old and very troubled: at the beginning Taranto was one of themain city of the Magna Grecia, but later, it passed under the Roman domain and started its decline.
Today Taranto, besides being the headquarter of the Italian Navy, it is a city very active economically speaking: its main livelihood are the trade, and fishing.
Let's begin our visit of the city from the cathedral, dedicated to St. Cataldo, a wonderful building characterized by different styles: the most interesting things are the Baroque facade and the Byzantine dome.
Among the buildings not religious, you can visit the castle, which dates back to the Ferdinando Argon domination period.
It deserves a visit the Archaeological National Museum, within which it is kept a wide collection of archaeological finds belonging to a long period in history, which starts from the Prehistoric age of the Magna Graecia.
But the most beautiful show to see in Taranto, is surely that one you can observe from the Vittorio Emanuele II waterfront: from here the panorama is truly unique, and it embraces all the city port, including the channel that unites the Piccolo (Small) sea with the Grande (Big) sea.