Taranto - Palazzo del Governo

Taranto located on a peninsula was founded by Greek settlers and during the period of Greek colonization in Southern Italy, the city was among the most important in "Magna Graecia". During the Second Punic War, Taranto supported Hannibal in Italy and opened it´s doors to his troops in 212 BC, but when Romans recaptured Taranto three years later, they massacred the citizens and looted the town. It became a Roman colony later.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Taranto got strongly fortified. In 547 Taranto asked a Byzantine general for support. He greatly reduced the size of the city in order to be able to defend it at all. So he separated the part of the isthmus from the actual city area, making an iland out of the peninsula and fortified it strongly. Nevertheless, three years later, the city was conquered by the Ostrogoth troops of Totila. Later Taranto was ruled by Langobards. The city was conquered by the Saracens in 839 and an emirate existed up to 880 when it was taken by a Byzantine army, but in 927 the Saracens were back looted and destroyed the city. It was rebuilt under Byzantine power from 967 on. The Normans conquered Taranto in the second half of the 11th century and founded the "Principality of Taranto" 1086. At that time the city was still strongly Greek and had a thriving Jewish community. Frederic II bequeathed the principality to his son Manfred.

This seat of the prefecture neighbours the "Palazzo delle Poste" (prev. upload). It is another example of the oversized architecture prefered during fascist times in Italy. The building was inaugurated in 1934 by Benito Mussolini.