Taranto : Italy
Modern times
During World War I, Taranto was base for Regia Marina warships. On 2 August 1916, Leonardo da Vinci, a Conte di Cavour class battleship, sank after a sabotage; the bust of the Italian artist is still present in Villa Peripato.
On the night of 11 November 1940, during World War II, the Italian ships, which were at anchor in Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo, were severely damaged by British naval forces (see Battle of Taranto). British forces landed near the port on September 9, 1943 as part of the Allied invasion (Operation Slapstick).
Historical figures
Here is a list of historical figures, who have had a relationship with the city. Not all of them were actually born in Taranto.
Archytas of Tarentum (428 BC - 347 BC), philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, strategist and commander-in-chief of the army of Taranto;
Philolaus (c. 480 BC c. 405 BC), mathematician and philosopher.
Aristoxenus, peripatetic philosopher, and writer on music and rhythm;
Leonidas of Tarentum poet;
Livius Andronicus, poet;
Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 BC - 174 BC), propraetor of Tarentum;
Pacuvius, tragic poet, died in Tarentum in 130 BC;
Catald, archibishop of Taranto, saint, and patronus;
Gil Cardinal Albornoz, archibishop of Taranto in 1644;
Giovanni Paisiello (1741 – 1816), composer;
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1741 – 1803), Napoleonic army general and novelist;
Etienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (1765 – 1840), duke of Taranto and marshal of France;
