Within a few hours of my arrival in Taranto, having sat down to enjoy an outdoor meal in the baking heat of mid-October, I found myself posting some photos of the city on my social media with the addition of, “someone take this man’s passport away for goodness sake, Taranto is A-MAZ-ING, and in my world, that’s dangerous”. Those who know me well would understand exactly what that means, places like Taranto that immediately sweep me off my feet and get visited again and again.
If Italy is a boot, Taranto is situated where the inner heel meets the sole! But rather bizarrely, if you haven’t studied a map before arrival, like me, the idea of water on both sides is quite confusing. This is due to the city being positioned not only on the Mediterranean Sea, but at the mouth of il Mare Piccolo, the little sea. Arrival at the railway station takes you across a bridge towards the old town, the first alert to water, water everywhere, only to arrive in the oldest part of the city, which is an island between the two bodies of water, and this is where the magic starts.
I am well travelled in Italy, but only in recent treks have I found myself starting to plunder further south, save one three day raid on Lecce, (which is even further south than Taranto and perhaps even more amazing) was some twenty years ago now. What I am discovering isn’t that the South is a different country obviously, but it has a warmer, more welcoming people. Perhaps the good people of Roma, Firenze, Venezia, as well as fabulous tourist regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto etc, don’t need to work too hard to encourage the visitor. Indeed, in many regards many of the citizens living too close to the real hubs in these places feel somehow overrun by the sheer volume of tourism, and by virtue the attitude of warmth, dims. In the south, I just get the feeling of a greater appreciation of those who have taken the time to journey that bit further, and there is a genuine curiosity and interest in visitors, which is very refreshing.
Taranto has a population of just under 200,000 and therefore a sizable conurbation, something you will get a handle on especially if you are thinking to walk the considerable distance from railway station to the edge of city football stadium. It is however for long periods a fantastically scenic walk. It probably comes as no surprise, given its location, Taranto has been a strategic base for a variety of civilisations dating back to the Spartans in the 8th century BC during the Greek colonisation. It was allegedly amongst the biggest cities in the world by 500 BC with a population of 300,000, some of whom would become amongst the most influential in their fields of expertise; philosophers, writers and even athletes in that period. All very interesting stuff as James Richardson would have said sitting outside a city centre cafe ahead of flipping the pages of his newspaper whilst quaffing a latte. Alas Taranto has rarely troubled Serie B, let alone looking to reach the top table, so even in the glory days of Football Italia on Channel Four, this city would never have registered on the televisual radar for James or anyone else. Perhaps part of the charm of Taranto is the notion it’s for the more adventurous visitor.
If the BC era was covered above, worry yee not, I will spare you the history of the twenty one centuries of AD Taranto to date, but interestingly the city fought for the King of Greece against the Romans, winning the first joust to retain its independence and power for a little longer. However Roma upped the ante and won the re-run, leaving Taranto’s punishment to be left off the great Roman trade route Via Appia, where Brindisi’s loyalty to Rome was rewarded by being the Empires principal southern port. Perhaps this significant loss of trade was the start of the slippery slope for Taranto, but even today it is the third biggest city of the south with only Napoli and Bari bigger.
The traffic-free tight streets of the island’s old town add a welcome cool area in heat, with the fishing boats docked on the banks of the more sheltered Little Sea coast. There is a fish market there too, so if you sit down in one of the many fine restaurants in the city and choose fish, there is absolutely no doubt that it will be fresh. The island truly is worth spending time on, as it is both charming and so period it is akin to stepping back in time. After all the layout is exactly as it was in 967! At one time almost the entire population was crammed on this island, but modern Taranto has spread out leaving no more than a thousand living here now.
A second bridge takes you off the island, having just walked by the remnants of the Temple of Poseidon, and the magnificent, fortified Aragon Castle. Once across you are back on mainland Italy and the start of modern Taranto. If you turn immediately right and follow the water, you can enjoy stunning views of the castle leading around to the left taking you further south along coastal walkways, where soon you will encounter the enormous Palace of Government. This is an incredible building, dwarfing anything in the vicinity and maybe the entire city. This area of Taranto by the sea started to remind me of Livorno in Tuscany and Salerno in Campania, all great port cities, and all trying their best to upgrade their coastal appeal, but with limited or almost no beach, none of them are ever likely pull in the sun seeking only brigade, and in my book that is no bad thing.
Modern day Taranto has not been without its troubles as the local steel plant, a big employer, needed to be placed into special measures after failing to heed the warnings from the government over its environmental pollution, where not only the sea life was being affected, but the area was also suffering high levels of certain cancers. Gradually the issues are easing and it needed to be, as in 2014 Taranto stood third in an unwanted list of the world’s worst polluted cities behind Linfen in China and Copsa Mica in Romania. Grazing remains banned within a 20 kilometre radiance of the steel plant.
Despite its size, Taranto has never been a hotbed of Calcio, adding credence to the notion that success of a football team isn’t based on population. The club that plays out of this city has rarely had a straight line story, and as you’ll discover, that is a theme that continues to this day. The name Taranto only entered the pantheon of Italian clubs in 1927, as the earliest clubs in the city were curiously known as Mario Rapisardi and US Pro Italia, both starting out in 1904. They tried to merge soon after, but the first notion of a troubled city for football was born as this was largely a disaster. Seven years later a third club Audace was founded by students, and a rivalry developed. However, eventually a morsel of common sense prevailed with AS Taranto bringing the city’s football clubs together under one umbrella in 1927. The move paid dividends, and by 1935 the club was in the second tier of the Italian game, even if it was just for one season.
Floundering around the lower reaches wasn’t where the club wanted to be, and by 1947 another Taranto side Arsenale were swept up, with the club playing for eight years as US ArsenalTaranto, before reverting to AS Taranto. As enthusiasm for the game in the city expanded, in 1965 they moved to a new venue on the edge of the city where the club play their games to this day, at the Erasmo Iacovone stadium. Erasmo was a striker for the club, and he was leading the charge to Serie A in 1977/78 only for him to be killed mid-season in a car accident, and this tragedy signalled the end of their attempt to reach the top flight, as well as remaining to this day the highest league position for the club in its history.
When I joined the Italian football bandwagon in the early ‘80’s, Taranto were in Serie B, and gradually over the years I have decided I want to try knocking off seeing all the clubs that were at that level back then. Barletta, Campobasso and Licata remain to be visited, but in a world of slightly more predictable league tables these days, such names, as well as Arezzo and Taranto in the second tier, was a rare moment in history. None of these clubs have been close to such lofty heights ever since. In Taranto’s case, by 1985 they’d gone bust, and despite being taken over mid-season under a slightly varied name, they lurched on until 1993 when the club was disbanded. The subsequent story of Taranto is a distressing litany of snakes and ladders, but Serie C, where the current club Taranto FC 1927 reside is as good as it has been since 1985, having been through four names in that period, involving a variety of forced demotions along the way.
From sounding out some of my Italian buddies, Taranto are a bit of a laughing stock sadly, perhaps borne of the notion that such a city should have a more solid football footing. It also seems to come from the citizens of the city who promote a greater sense of grandeur than the sum of the parts actually adds up too. Whether that is a legacy stretching back through the centuries to when it was a strategic port I am unsure, but it is a scenario I have come across in Italy before, where Sambenedettese fans suffer from the same issues. Maybe having a fine stadium, without the team to back it up, adds fuel to the idea “we were once better”, whereas the reality is something else.
Stadio Erasmo Iacovone, with a 27,584 capacity is one of the biggest stadiums in southern Italy. Despite being built more than fifty years ago, the stadium is in good nick and would truly be a fabulous addition to a higher echelon. Part of the modern day issues for Taranto Calcio is the sizable Ultra group thinking they are bigger than the club. Having finally got back to Serie C two seasons ago, you would have thought the city would be rallying behind the club aiding its attempt to make a real run at returning to Serie B for the first time nearly forty years. Alas, factional ways are still alive and well in Taranto, with the Ultras trying to oust the owner by continuing a season-long boycott. The lower tier of the home Curva is open, but remains empty each and every home game with the occasional banner highlighting their wish to see the owner gone. That doesn’t mean that Taranto are not without fans, they just lack the organised chanting that the Ultras bring to the game. As I was sitting watching the game on the fringes of the main body of support in the Tribuna (main stand) I couldn’t help but spot pockets of quiet, but Ultra like characters, maybe a few of the old gang telling the chiefs they agree with the stance, but quietly still wishing to support the team, and if that is the case, good on them.
People might take issue with an owner, the situation at Manchester United springs to mind, but the difference there is the fans still turn up and support the team. Yes they might voice their discontent, but the players have their loyalty and support. In Taranto, as the players trot out to merely gentle applause, where predominantly only the away fans are giving the visitors encouragement, it is a crying shame. As wonderful as the city was, the horrible Italian attitude of the Ultras where it is just trying another attempt to force change, will in all likelihood merely bring yet another bankruptcy story with at least a two league demotion looming should the owner walk away, or the club continue to be starved of such significant income from the missing fanbase. In this day and age it’s a travesty, and from what I have learned, this Taranto stand off has been ongoing for around five years now. It is an utterly depressing state of affairs, and it makes me quite angry. The thing is, the 2022/23 Taranto team isn’t a bad side, and with that greater degree of encouragement from an enthusiastic crowd, who knows how far up the table they could go and take their chances in the end of season play offs.
Potenza, a relatively nearby team (in Italy terms anyway), were in town the day I visited, and their Ultras and fans were in good voice. Sadly their side were rather toothless, but despite the mute atmosphere Taranto went about their business in a professional and efficient way. An early header put them ahead, and in almost the same minute at the start of the second half a fine shot found the corner of the net for the second, and it pretty much sealed the win. Everyone on the field and the stands knew it too, despite going through the motions for a further 40 minutes, but “i delfini” (the dolphins) remained focused and saw it out even if the latter part of the game was bordering on thunderously tedious.
I have been drawn to keeping an eye on Taranto’s results in recent years based on the variety of heartbreaking ways they found to falter in the quest to get out of Serie D, but when they finally did, a magnificent support nearly filled the Iacovone. It showed the potential that largely remains untapped and the ongoing issues continue to hamper largely due to petty local squabbles. However, having developed a curiosity for those old B sides of those misty nostalgic first years following Italian football, my newly found passion for the city has merely added to my wish to see the club succeed, Ultras or not. The sooner Italian football breaks free of such supporters who try holding their club to a sort of ransom the better. Taranto deserves better, and I hope they succeed.
I had chosen Taranto over Foggia to be my 50th Stadio where I have watched football in Italy. The city was the star of the visit, the stadium is great, the team played well, but the Ultras tale left a sour taste, but putting that to one side, it was fittingly cracking stadium to notch up such a landmark.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 