Taranto del Mare
Taranto is a city unlike any other seaside city.
Taranto is of the sea.
Its history comes from the sea. Its founders came from there.
The first settlements gave, then, birth to what is now the Old City.
A city of the sea, very frequently, has an urban development that starts from a widening, a square placed along the coast and from there, the city, penetrates developing into the surrounding territory.
"Taranto del Mare" no !
Taranto, as we know it today, developed from a small island, without any widening or squares.
The island collects within its walls the history of a population that from Sparta gave rise to Taranto, its inhabitants and what we are now.
Of course, we are not a seafaring people. Fishing used to take place in front of this salty lake-like, rich and prosperous Mar Piccolo, which enabled the city to be sustained. Not least, when needed, the bay of Mar Grande also served to support the city.
It was not necessary to sail. It was not necessary to go several miles out of one's neighborhood. This did not make us navigators, but it did not tie us to the sea; the city will always be "of the Sea"
It is a universal sense of belonging because the culture that arises around the Sea (as indeed that which arises for the mountains) is something univocal, which unites anyone who has developed the sensibility "of the Sea."
This collection of photographs is a small narrative of the bond between Taranto and the Sea, at least it is my interpretation through "figurative art" for this bond.
Taranto is interpenetrated to the sea. What is below is balanced to what is above.
This collection of photographs is a small narrative of the bond between Taranto and the Sea, at least it is my interpretation through "figurative art" for this bond.
I hope that from this collection, the "Taranto del Mare" shines through.
Giovanni Squitieri - Taranto - facile@offimagine.com