OPEN PORT, The Port of Taranto’s virtual Port Center is online!
PORTO OF TARANTO, 04 APRIL 2022 - Open Port - www.tarantopenport.com – opens the Port of Taranto to its digital community by unveiling its virtual Port Center and inviting voyagers on an unprecedented journey of discovery. Discovering not only content and information, but also immersive educational experiences united by a common goal: to bring the Port of Taranto closer to the city and the national and international port city communities, with a view to encouraging transnational cultural exchange and creating a new way of experiencing the port’s heritage.
The Open Port digital museum initiative - supported by the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea in line with the objectives set out in the Three-Year Operational Plan 2020-2022 and previewed as part of Taranto Port Days 2021 (video link) - stands out as a flagship project among the measures taken by the Authority. In future, it will find a physical home in the Falanto building which will host the Port of Taranto’s Exhibition Center, making it a hub of cultural, educational and tourist attractions at international level.
Conceived as an interactive tool for the promotion of maritime and port culture, the Open Port website has been developed through a shared design process which has been implemented with the support of a team of professionals in museum communication and the valued collaboration of various public, private, local, national and international players who have each contributed to enriching the website’s original content. The portal - which will soon be available in English - sports an original and modern style of exhibition which enhances storytelling: visitors navigate the virtual Port Center in their own, personal way by moving from one knot in a net to another, each of which leads to further insight, research and details.
The narration of these port themes and issues takes into consideration an ecomuseum perspective with the aim of understanding and bringing to life the richness of the network of relationships between places, people, events and projects. Open Port accomplishes this through seven thematic sections:
IL PROGETTO, che illustra i vari step di realizzazione del portale, dalla scelta del logo alla rete di collaborazione sviluppata per l’elaborazione dei vari contenuti;
THE PROJECT, which describes the various steps in the creation of the portal, from the choice of logo to the development of a network of collaborators for creating content;
THE PORT, which includes an interactive map of the modern-day, multifunctional port and a dynamic infographic on the Taranto seaport;
PORT LIFE, a fascinating journey through time and space between port and city, via a mesh of places, activities and memories, both past and present;
PEOPLE OF THE PORT, a section dedicated to the human and emotional side of the port, narrated through the faces, voices and sounds that bring the Ionian seaport to life, with first-hand accounts from the port community;
TIMELINE, a journey around the Port of Taranto from the Neolithic period to the constitution of the Port Authority;
ART, RITUALS AND MYTHS, which offers an interpretation of the Port of Taranto through a voyage of literature, film and insights into the rituals linked to the sea, between myths and legends;
BLOG, a section that crystallises the virtual Port Center’s strategic vision from the perspective of sustainability, public participation and a sense of belonging, inviting citizens, students, associations and scholars (and many more!), to suggest original contributions for the virtual Port Center network in order to create unique, individual and collective visions for “Taranto, my port-city”.
The evolving nature of the project will continually encourage the search for contents, accounts, historic images and films as well as the creation of new ones. It will trigger the discovery of places and objects capable of telling us a story, attracting ambassadors who will illustrate their experiences and their vision of the future. It will lead to the conception of new stories and metaphors about the essence of the port and the city today and what they might become. All of this while contemplating journeys and connections between the port-center and the streets of a city, a floating community suspended between the sea, its industry, and the surrounding countryside.
“The Open Port website – in the words of Prof. Sergio Prete, President of the Port Network Authority – is a preview of what will later be physically created in the location that will host the Port Center. The aim is to create a centre for education, information and open interaction with the public, above all with young people. It will become a genuine hub for immersive experiences capable of connecting the port with the city of Taranto. The Open Port website itself, thanks to its appealing virtual form, can be a key player in this journey and experience sharing its contents with a greater network of users interested in interacting with the port and maritime world from an original, open and innovative perspective”.
Follow Open Port on its official social media pages:
