By: Laura Seco
Taranto is today an emerging and dynamic destination, the starting point for numerous growth projects, including a new project dedicated to cruise tourism (see Report in CruisesNews magazine nº61 – June 2022 Emerging Destinations: Taranto)
We're talking about a city of 200,000 inhabitants in southern Italy, in the Puglia region, primarily dedicated to industry, though with significant tourism potential thanks to the legacy of various civilizations and cultural influences over the centuries. Taranto is also the city of two seas, as it straddles the Mar Grande (Great Sea ) and the Mar Piccolo (Small Sea), and is divided into two parts: the old town (Taranto Vecchia) and the more modern area. The old town is located on a small island, connected to the new area by two bridges: the Ponte di Pietra (Stone Bridge) and the Ponte Girevole (Swing Bridge ). Narrow streets and alleyways lead to the Cathedral of San Cataldo, the oldest in Puglia, dating from the second half of the 10th century; the Doric columns of Piazza Castello, the remains of the oldest temple in Magna Graecia; and the Aragonese Castle, which, according to tradition, inspired the adventures of the Count of Monte Cristo.
During the pandemic, Taranto was one of the first Italian ports to welcome cruise ships, specifically one of the destinations on MSC Cruises itineraries. Since then, it has established itself as a key port of call in southern Italy. In 2021, it received 80,000 passengers across 28 cruise ship calls, while a total of 54 calls from nine different cruise lines are planned for 2022: MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Marella Cruises, TUI Cruises, P&O Cruises, Noble Caledonia, Phoenix Reisen, Sea Cloud Cruises, and Road Scholar.
Thus, in 2022 Taranto will surpass 130,000 cruise passengers, who will enjoy a variety of experiences, such as a private beach (between June and September) and the opportunity to swim in the Ionian Sea; exploring the city's Greek and Roman past with visits to a Doric temple, the Greco-Roman necropolis, cathedrals, and castles; and savoring a diverse and extensive culinary scene, as the area is also known for its vineyards and olive groves, producing high-quality wines and olive oils.
And to delve deeper into this gastronomic facet of the region, thanks to the Port of Taranto, we were able to experience it firsthand by participating in the fourth edition of the EGO Festival, where the cuisine of the Puglia region takes center stage. Furthermore, this year, as a special occasion, the city of Taranto hosted the “EGO Festival feat. Dinner Incredible,” a fusion of the renowned festival with a television series for Discovery+. This event offers a complete immersion in the gastronomic and wine culture of the Puglia region, through the arrival of 12 world-renowned chefs from around 
the globe. They discover the ingredients, history, culinary identity, and traditions of the area and create a menu using local ingredients. From bread to wine, from olive oil to fresh pasta, from the typical mussels to spices, everything that the Puglia basket has to offer as authentic, distinctive, and local produce.
In this way, accompanying the chefs, we visited destinations such as Laterza, visiting a masseria where we discovered the production of cheeses such as mozzarella or scamorza; an artisanal bakery with more than three generations of expert bakers, 
where they make a typical bread of the area, thanks to a sourdough that has been fed daily for more than 35 years; or a butcher shop where different preparations based on meat and offal products are prepared and tasted in an oven with a fire made from vine shoots.
We also visited Martina Franca, a baroque city where the cathedral dedicated to San Martino and outstanding palaces are located; and Alberobello, famous for the trulli, constructions made with stone finished with a conical roof, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
We also visited some local vineyards, where we learned about the different grape varieties and their transformation into delicious wines, and an olive grove where we participated in a tasting. We sampled bread, wine, oils, cheeses, mussels, spices, and 
typical dishes from southern Italy, enjoying incredible experiences such as burrata making, wine and oil tastings, and visits to ovens where focaccia is baked or where traditional dishes are cooked. In this technological age, these kinds of amazing experiences, now highly valued, are included as options for cruise passengers, with excursions that combine cultural and historical visits in the various towns of the Puglia region. These excursions also foster a deeper connection with the destination through participation in workshops or masterclasses on typical products, gastronomy, or crafts. These are authentic experiences that, even if you hear about them, look them up online, or read about them in a book, you can never truly feel unless you are there yourself, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting, and enjoying them.
We also visited the MSC Splendida docked in the Port of Taranto, which includes a 12-hour stop in this destination every week from last April until November 2022, as part of its 8-day itinerary from Marseille, with the option of embarkation for guests at this Italian port. The itinerary also includes visits to destinations such as Genoa, Civitavecchia, and Syracuse.
The MSC Splendida, with a capacity for 4,363 passengers, offers a wide variety of 
restaurants, bars and lounges; it also has four swimming pools, a fully equipped gym and a luxury spa; family activities and facilities, as well as its exclusive MSC Yacht Club area, with 71 spacious suites and personalized butler service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Taranto has much to offer and has only just begun to reveal its tourism potential to travel in general and the cruise industry in particular, with a significant increase in planned calls for 2023 and a wide variety of experiences available to its guests, including visits to museums and monuments, natural landscapes, and the opportunity to participate in its culture, gastronomy, and popular traditions.
