Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Taranto

The Archbishopric of Taranto (Latin: Archidioecesis Tarentina) is a metropolitan Roman Catholic diocese in southern Italy, on a bay in the Gulf of Taranto.

Its suffragan sees are the diocese of Castellaneta and diocese of Oria. The current Archbishop of Taranto is Archbishop Filippo Santoro, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 21 November 2011 to replace Archbishop Benigno Luigi Papa, O.F.M. Cap., whose resignation was accepted that same day. On 18 September 2012, Archbishop Santoro was named by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as one of the papally-appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

History

According to the local legend, the Gospel was preached in Taranto by the same St. Peter who had consecrated St. Amasianus bishop. The city venerates also the martyr St. Orontius.

The first bishop whose date is known is Innocentius (496). In the pontificate of St. Gregory the Great, three bishops filled the episcopal chair: Andreas (590), Joannes (601), Honorius (603). It is uncertain whether St. Cataldus belongs to the sixth or the seventh century. Joannes (978) is the first who had the title of archbishop.

Taranto

Taranto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtaːranto]; early Italian: Tarento from Latin: Tarentum;Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς Tarās; Modern Greek: Τάραντας 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.

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.