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Taranto
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| Taranto, the provincial capital stands on the Ionian Sea, at the westernmost tip of the isthmus that joins the Salentine peninsula to the continent. It is Known as "the town of two seas" as the old town - the original nucleus still partly Mediaeval- lies on the island between the two canals linking the open sea, known as "Mar Grande" and a large lagoon with two basins, called "Mar Piccolo" (the former canal, to the north-west, is natural and crossed by the bridge of Porta Napoli, built in stone and 115 m long; the latter, to the south- east and with a characteristic swing bridge in iron constructed in 1887 and rebuilt in 1958, was dug for Ferdinand I of Naples in 1481). Taranto is one of the main industrial towns in the south of Italy; as is shown by its busy mercantile port. There is also an active service sector and tourism is well developed. The Taranto of today is the child of the urban development that took place following the creation of the naval port and arsenal. The "Borgo" is the district which formed when the old town expanded on the mainland to the west; the industrial and port area is here. The old town stands at the centre,on the island between the two canals wherw once stood the acropolis. It is marked by narrow, winding streets and contains the oldest monuments. |
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