PORTO OF TARANTO, 18 OCTOBER 2022 - The spotlight has recently fallen on the 2022 edition of Taranto Port Days (7-9 October 2022), an annual event included in the Italian Port Days promoted nationally by Assoporti, the Association of Italian Ports. The Taranto provincial event, organized by the AdSP of the Ionian Sea with the patronage of the Municipality of Taranto, was carried out with the support of the Fondazione Taranto 25 and the collaboration of Jonian Dolphin Conservation and AFO6. The Authority also made use of the valuable contribution of numerous public and private partners who, in various ways, made it possible to put together an eventful and animated programme of cultural activities open to all and free-of-charge.
Dock 1 of the Port of Taranto was once again a privileged location also for the fourth edition of what is now a great celebration dedicated to the port and maritime world: paying tribute to the opening of the port to the city with the slogan "opening port life and culture to people”, the Port Days represent a unique event for Taranto port-city during which citizens were able to visit the port infrastructure, in many cases, for the first time.
This year recorded important numbers for the Ionian port, amounting to over 5,000 visitors in the three-day event in which there were conferences, talks, sports activities, concerts and various recreational moments dedicated to families and children. The one that just ended in Taranto was a heartfelt and well-attended edition that gave a new shape and soul to what is now one of the most anticipated moments for the Ionian port cluster.
For this year, all the initiatives included in the Taranto Port Days programme were linked by a common theme, that of sustainability and social inclusion, through the promotion of issues such as training and work, also thanks to moments of insight, recreational and sporting activities designed for the youngest.
As per tradition, the ribbon cutting started the Opening Ceremony which, accompanied by the music of AC/DC, formally opened the Port village, an exhibition area set up with 18 stands dedicated to the culture of the sea and the different realities - public and private - which welcomed the many visitors with interactive, laboratory and tasting spaces (AdSP of the Ionian Sea - Fondazione Taranto 25 / Balab - Guardia di Finanza - Jonian Dolphin Conservation - Taranto Port Authority - Stella Maris - State Police - Optima / Raccomar - Confindustria - Fire Brigade - Yilport - San Cataldo Container Terminal - Municipality of Taranto - Officina Maremosso - Customs, Excise duties and Monopolies Agency - Plenitude - Taranto Cruise Port - SIR -VIS - Molo Sant'Eligio - Approdi Srl Daddario Yacht) .
A great success, moreover, for the visits to the port by land and by sea, organized with the impeccable coordination of Jonian Dolphin Conservation which, as in previous editions, allowed visitors to observe from the sea the port infrastructures and the handling that take place on every single quay of the Ionian port, giving life to encounters, direct knowledge and dissemination of the port heritage linked to the specificity of the activities carried out in the port of Taranto.
Lastly, the Taranto Port Days 2022 hosted a new edition of the Falanto Awards, an event that arose on the impulse of the AdSP of the Ionian Sea which wanted to thank the key players who are contributing to the relaunch of the Taranto destination. Among these: Admiral Francesco Ricci andAdmiral Salvatore Vitiello of the Italian Navy; the shipping company P&O Cruises; Renexia; Vestas Italia; Jonian Dolphin Conservation and Beppe D'Onghia. As usual, the event dedicated the Ikkos awards to athletes, coaches and sports figures from Taranto and its province, recognizing their value with the conferral of an award inspired by the first coach in history and an Olympic athlete originally from Taranto. Among these, the karateka Silvia Semeraro, the lifter Giulia Imperio and the well-deserving Vincenzo Quero, undisputed star of boxing. For the first time on the Taranto Port Days stage, the Falanto Awards saw the journalist Mauro Pulpito directing, accompanied by the Puglia comedian Vincenzo Albano.
>Click here! To relive the main moments of the 2022 edition. The section - constantly updated! - dedicated to "Taranto Port Days 2022" or to the following focuses that detail, in clips, what was achieved in the Port of Taranto from 7 to 9 October 2022.
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TARANTO PORT DAYS: many initiatives in one big event
- Musical events
Numerous artistic and musical events lit up the stage of the Taranto Port Days during the 2022 edition. Among these the “Rock Port”, a contest organized thanks to the artistic coordination of AFO6 which, for this second edition, awarded the Periodo Blu, an emerging band from Taranto, as winner of the final in front of Nera Smith.
Among the musical events included in the Taranto Port Days 2022 programme, the performances of Venerus (7 October 2022) in concert in Taranto with the live “Piano Soltanto” - second and last of the only two Italian stages of the tour - are unforgettable; the Evocation live of Maestro Beppe D'Onghia (8 October 2022) and the dawn concert of the Orchestra della Magna Grecia (9 October 2022) which staged "Ennio & Astor, una vita per la musica”, a project by the same Orchestra with Maestro Stefano Pietrodarchi dedicated to the music of Morricone and Piazzolla. Lastly, the cultural association Be Swing and the Falanto Chorus added further music and joy to the Port Days by presenting the event "Incanto Sotto il Mare" and "Ciak si canta" respectively.
- Talks, conferences, screenings and port dialogues
Numerous conferences and talks that have alternated on dock 1 to open dialogue windows dedicated to the world of ports. Among these:
“THE CENTRALITY OF EUROPEAN PORTS IN RELAUNCHING INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC” (7 Octaber 2022) a talk by Confindustria Taranto which examined the prospects for relaunching the Ionian port, both in terms of the opportunities arising from the SEZ and in terms of the resources allocated by the NRRP for the infrastructure interventions of the same special economic zones and consolidating the ports of Southern Italy.
"INNOVATION AND START-UP IN THE PORT OF TARANTO: FAROS THE FIRST ITALIAN ACCELERATOR OF THE BLUE ECONOMY" (7 October 2022) presentation talk on FAROS the Italian accelerator of the Port Authorities National Network dedicated to the sector of port innovation and the blue economy.
Screening of "IONIO, DIALOGOUE BETWEEN TWO SEAS" (7 October 2022) directed by Lorenzo Scaraggi. At the end of the screening of the documentary - made within the "FISH & CHIPS" project, funded by the Interreg V-A Greece Italy Cross-border Cooperation Programme - a dialogue was held - led by Sabrina Morea with contributions by Prof. Nicolò Carnimeo, Prof. Danilo Leone Dr. Lorenzo Scaraggi and by Vice Admiral Pasquale de CANDIA - dedicated to the narration of Taranto and Corfu and their seas, undisputed protagonists of the video story.
“ALL HANDS ON DECK! - Reception and inclusion projects in Taranto port-city” (8 October 2022), dialogue led by Sabrina Morea aimed at sharing good practices implemented on local and regional levels in support of the cultural, social and psycho-physical well-being of youngsters. The meeting - attended by numerous students, teachers and school heads from the Ionian area - was attended by institutional actors and private operators in the area.
“TARANTO… AN EXCEPTIONAL PORT. The large companies in the port of Taranto backing the handling of exceptional loads, prospects for project cargo” (8 October 2022), a talk by the port operators of the Ionian port, privileged witnesses of the past history and current events of the port of Taranto, who shared a narrative rich in knowledge and port anecdotes.
“PORT TO PORT” (8 October 2022), political-institutional debate by RAI journalist Luigi Monfredi who led a dynamic dialogue on the strategic role of the port of Taranto as a driving force for economic and social development in the South, giving the Taranto Port Days public a moment of high political depth through the debate with some of the major institutional representatives of the area.
“THE PORT OF TARANTO: a storytelling between past, present and future” (9 October 2022), a conference organized by The International Propeller Club - Port of Taras which represented a real symposium dedicated to port culture thanks to the presence of some witnesses of the past and present life of the Port of Taranto, as well as forward-looking authors of development and innovation.
- Sporting activities
Thanks to the Ionian Sports Associations, the setting of the Taranto Port Days 2022 hosted, in the three days of the initiative, numerous events dedicated to individual and team disciplines in four areas - specially set up in collaboration with Decathlon Italia - which transformed dock 1 of the port of Taranto into a port playground in which to team up, in compliance with the principles of loyalty and inclusion.
- Playful - (re) creation events
Numerous and free events with a playful, cultural and recreational slant designed for everyone - and especially for the youngest! Links to the Taranto Port Days 2022 video story.
Among these, the permanent stand of PugliaBrick, Pompieropoli bythe National Fire Brigade Association (CNVVF), the artistic animation by the Circo Laboratorio Nomade that enchanted visitors with activities that recall the social importance of circus disciplines and the Fondazione Dal Mare which, on 9 October, conducted free visits on a sailing boat.
The novelty of the edition just ended, the "Glamorous Sunset" (9 October 2022), a sartorial fashion moment during which the "Havana & Co" brand was publicised. The initiative was also an opportunity to weave a story telling on local workers and social sustainability as a concept applied to fashion, fully promoting the theme chosen for Italian Port Days 2022.
- Initiatives dedicated to youngsters
The young and very young were the protagonists during Taranto Port Days thanks to debates and contests dedicated exclusively to Taranto students, such as the second edition of the call for artists “Taranto: la mia città-porto” which, putting itself forward as a tool for renewed opening of the port to the young and very young generations of students from the Ionian capital, it rewarded the inspiration and creativity of the students from the 5 classes of the classical high school Frascolla” of San Vito – Taranto (Video stories Category), the students of 3B of the HEI Galileo Galilei of Taranto (Drawing / Painting Category) and the students of 4D of the HEI Archimede of Taranto (Writing Category). The jury also considered awarding an "out of competition" prize for the originality and creativity expressed, also to the 4E class of the HEI Martellotta of Taranto for the paper produced by the group in the Drawing / Photo category.
“THE SEA OF TALENTS OF TARANTO”, the final act of the contest promoted by Fondazione Taranto25 and aimed at high schools in the Ionian area (Battaglini, Archimede Liside, Elsa Morante, Ferraris, Pitagora, Righi, Pacinotti and Aristosseno) and, in particular, to talented young people and the ideas of value that rewarded the singing performance of Claudia Consiglioeri of the HEI Ferraris of Taranto.