The jewels of Magna Graecia in the national museum
Taranto, ancient Taras, was founded in 706 BC by colonists from Sparta and became the richest and most powerful city of Magna Graecia, the Greek world of southern Italy, famous for its fleet, its philosophers, such as Archytas, a friend of Plato, and its craftsmen. Its splendour is told by the MArTA, the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto, one of the most important museums in Italy for the Greek world, housed in a former convent of the Alcantarine friars.
Its most famous collection is the Ori di Taranto, the "Gold of Taranto": extraordinary jewels made by Tarentine goldsmiths between the fourth and second centuries BC, found in the tombs of the city's necropolises. Diadems of gold leaves and flowers, earrings in the shape of tiny winged figures and boats, necklaces, rings with engraved gems, bracelets in the shape of snakes and a famous sceptre of gold and enamel, of exquisite workmanship. The museum also displays painted vases, terracotta figurines, marble sculptures, Roman mosaics and the tomb of the Athlete, with the skeleton of an athlete of the sixth century BC and the Panathenaic amphorae won as prizes.
Tip: allow at least two hours; the museum is in the "borgo nuovo", the modern town, a short walk from the swing bridge and the old town.
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