The Ponte Girevole is called the Swing Bridge in Taranto, Italy. It spans the navigation canal…read morebetween Taranto's Mar Grande & Mar Piccolo. The bridge connects Borgo Antico the Old Town island to the Borgo Nuovo new Town peninsula. The canal was excavated in 1481 as part of the defenses of Taranto. It was narrow with one lane of traffic moving in each direction & a narrow single file pedestrian sidewalk on each side.

Right on the waterfront in Taranto we wandered across the moat into the courtyard. There wasn't a…read morefee, but we were asked to sign a release before going inside. We peeked inside rooms from the main courtyard, Visiting the barracks, kitchen, and lots of ruins seeing broken pottery and coins. The castle was built on the site of an older fortifications dating back to Greek occupation in the 3rd & 4th centuries BC. In 1481 the low ground in front of the fortification site was excavated to allow the passage of boats, & to create a moated defensive position. The present fortress was built for the then-king of Naples, Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1496 to reinforce the naturally low-lying link between the old town of Taranto on a peninsula, and the mainland.

Castello Dentice di Frasso di Carovigno entry is very reasonable…read more It is a nice location with amazing architecture. The tour is self guided. The art work & cravings are a testament to the artist. The greatest downside was that the guided area was very limited.

We have visited the fantastic Gallipoli the day before. Now we came here for a bit of a stroll…read more Nearby Alberobello (which is nothing short of amazing) we did a few years ago. We arrived a bit after lunchtime after a longer drive. So we knew that most shops will be closed. But we came for the architecture and a good meal (which turned out not that good). But even though it was suprising to see that really all the shops were completely shut. Not even a single souvenir shop was open. But nevermind that. The town itself had some wonderful sights. The Palazzo Ducalo was a nice welcoming sight after walking up from the nearby parking lot. A nice little park just next to. Then we went on the main drag of town: The Via Vittorio Emanuele. A nice walking street that leads to the most famous sights in town. The Basilica di San Martino, the Piazza Plebiscito and the Piazza Maria Immacolata. Especially the Basilica is a sight to behold. The whole town is a whitewashed sight. Impressive. It's just fun to walk on the Vittorio Emanuele. Countless photo ops. But once you reached the two Piazzi at the Basilica, the town turns into a maze with few sights. There are some more hidden in the small lanes and streets. But in the end it's a handful of Piazzi and one impressive Basilica. And that's nothing bad. These are definitely worth a visit. But compared to Gallipoli the day before (and Alberobello) this one falls a bit short.