The second edition of the “Taranto Port Days 2020” ended on Saturday October 10th 2020. The event was launched for the first time in 2019 as part of the Italian port Days promoted at national level by Assoporti, the Association of the Italian Ports. As for 2020, the Italian Port Days have been included by the EU Commission within the European Maritime Day 2020 – EMD inMyCountry.
The Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea (event promoter) counted on the precious collaboration of the Associations AFO6, Jonian Dolphin Conservation and International Propeller Club – Port of Taras which contributed to the success of the initiative. The event also received the patronage and endorsement by the Municipality of Taranto and Medcruise, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports.
For three days the skyline of the port of Taranto took on a new and unprecedented look thanks to artistic and cultural moments that alternated along the event area set up on the first pier – the ‘hinge’ area and symbolic place representing the regeneration of the infrastructural and cultural relationship between the port and the city. A real symposium dedicated to the port of Taranto and to the enhancement of the maritime and port culture, marked with a sustainable and innovative key, which recorded the participation of about a thousand people in the three days of the Taranto Port Days.
Port visits, night concerts, talks, awards: a rich program of events – in the name of innovation and sustainability – also promoted virtually thanks to some live streaming, where all the activities were carried out in strict compliance with the emergency measures against COVID-19, in order to guarantee the participation of students and citizens in total safety.
During the closing ceremony the port hosted illustrious representatives of the national and international institutional and artistic scene, invited to the Port Days stage on the occasion of the Falanto Awards (link: https://bit.ly/3iVqfEo), a kermesse at its first edition, born on the will of the Port Authority which wanted to express its gratitude to the key players who are contributing to the relaunch of Taranto as cruise and tourism destination.
Among the award-winners: the Undersecretary of State Mario Turco, awarded for having contributed to the creation of a model of economic reconversion and diversified development for the port-city of Taranto; Rinaldo Melucci – represented by the deputy mayor of the Municipality of Taranto, Fabiano Marti – for having contributed to the dissemination of the values that inspired the rebirth of the city of Taranto from an eco- sustainable perspective even before taking the lead of the municipal administration; the Marella Cruises cruise line – represented by Danila Sassanelli of Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, general agent of Marella Cruises – awarded for having contributed to the positioning of the Ionian port in the cruise sector as an emerging port, opening new perspectives for local economic development; Antonio Diodato – represented by his mother Dora Stasolla – for having contributed to enhancing the Taranto area and renewing the value of beauty in the city; Michele Riondino – expected musical guest of the final event with his local band “Revolving Bridge” – for having made a valuable contribution to the enhancement of the Taranto area, making it a national attraction and a breeding ground for creativity. As part of the Falanto Awards, the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea has also awarded two Ikkos Awards to the local athletes Pier Alberto Buccoliero and Benedetta Pilato – the latter represented by her father Salvatore Pilato – for having contributed, thanks to the excellence of their performance in sport, to the dissemination of the values that inspired the rebirth of the city of Taranto and that have always characterized it, as evidenced by the figure of Ikkos, the coach and Olympic athlete coming from Taranto.
The closing ceremony of the Taranto Port Days also registered the participation of the Oscar-winner Richard O’Barry, the most famous researcher on the life of dolphins who inspired, also thanks to his Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove”, the Taranto Dolphin Sanctuary project promoted by the Jonian Dolphin Conservation in synergy with the Municipality of Taranto.
The edition, just ended, has in fact opened the port of Taranto to unprecedented scenarios that aim to build a new way of narrating the sea and port. The Port Days are perhaps the key element of the strategy promoted by the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea in its Three-Year Operational Plan. The activities carried out during the 2020 edition represent a range of best practices that the port city of Taranto aims to develop over time, also at an international level, through the exchange and sharing of development visions common to other ports of the worldwide network already active in regenerating the link between the port and the city.
The port of Taranto collected many ideas and proposals during the Port Days edition that has just ended.
The appointment is for 2021, in the port of Taranto!
To relive the main moments of the 2020 edition, please refer to the “Taranto Port Days 2020” section of the port Authority institutional website at the link: http://port.taranto.it/index.php/it/taranto-port-days.
