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''For other uses, see Tarentum (disambiguation).'' Taranto (; early Italian: ''Tarento'' from (ラテン語:Tarentum);〔Eric Partridge, ''Origins: a short etymological dictionary of modern English'', (p. 695 )〕 Ancient Greek: ''Tarās''; Modern Greek: ''Tarantas''; Tarantino "Tarde") is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. It is the third-largest continental city of Southern Italy: according to 2011 population census, it has a population of 200,154. Taranto is an important commercial and military port. It has well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, some shipyards for building warships, and food-processing factories. Taranto is known as "The Spartan City" because it was the only colony ever founded by Sparta, in 706 BC. In ancient times around 500 BC the city was one of the largest in the world with population estimates up to 300,000 people.〔http://books.google.com/books?id=HooTAQAAIAAJ&q=ancient+tarento+300,000+inhabitants&dq=ancient+tarento+300,000+inhabitants&hl=da&sa=X&ei=tGa1U-P-JoiAywPPp4EY&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBDge〕〔http://books.google.dk/books?id=9sAJAAAAIAAJ&q=late+6th+century+tarentum+population+300,000&dq=late+6th+century+tarentum+population+300,000&hl=da&sa=X&ei=fcC1U8yvN8PO0AWMloDYDQ&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAw〕 ==Overview== Taranto's pre-history dates back to 706 BC when it was founded as a Greek colony, established by the Spartans. The ancient city was situated on a peninsula; the modern city has been built over the ancient Greek city of which only a few ruins remain, including part of the city wall, two temple columns dating to the 6th century BC, and tombs. The islets of ''S. Pietro'' and ''S. Paolo'' (St. Peter and St. Paul), collectively known as Cheradi Islands, protect the bay, called ''Mar Grande'' (''Big Sea''), where the commercial port is located. Another bay, called ''Mar Piccolo'' (''Little Sea''), is formed by the peninsula of the old city, and has flourishing fishing. ''Mar Piccolo'' is a military port with strategic importance. At the end of the 19th century, a channel was excavated to allow military ships to enter the ''Mar Piccolo'' harbour, and the ancient Greek city become an island connected to the mainland by bridges. In addition, the islets and the coast are strongly fortified. Because of the presence of these two bays, Taranto is also called “the city of the two seas”. The Greek colonists from Sparta called the city Taras (), after the mythical hero Taras, while the Romans, who connected the city to Rome with an extension of the Appian way, called it Tarentum. The natural harbor at Taranto made it a logical home port for the Italian naval fleet before and during the First World War. During World War II, Taranto became famous as a consequence of the November 1940 British air attack on the Regia Marina naval base stationed here, which today is called the Battle of Taranto. Taranto is also the origin of the common name of the Tarantula spider family, Theraphosidae, even though strictly speaking there are no members of Theraphosidae in the area. In ancient times, residents of the town of Taranto, upon being bitten by the large local Wolf Spider, ''Lycosa tarentula'', would promptly do a long vigorous dance like a Jig. This was done in order to sweat the venom out of their pores, even though the spider's venom was not fatal to humans. The frenetic dance became known as the Tarantella. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Taranto」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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