Ipogeo di Via Cava (Hypogeum on Cava Street), Taranto

Beautiful "aggratis" experience. Far from the cost of life, from the cost of umbrellas, a dive into the thousand-year-old history of Taranto. Very kind, knowledgeable, passionate guides. Underground Taranto was fascinating for its history, quantity of hypogea and quality of information. Congratulations and heartfelt praise to the organizers.

What opens in the highest portion of Via Cava is undoubtedly one of the most interesting hypogea. Probably rearranged in medieval times, reusing areas quarried in Greek times, it consists of two rooms. The first, larger and with a barrel vault and the second in which there are openings along the walls with a probable funerary purpose from the early Christian or Byzantine era. The structures, which are reminiscent of arcosolium tombs (chronologically classifiable between the fourth and sixth centuries AD), similar to those archaeologically investigated in the hypogeum of Palazzo Delli Ponti, would testify to the use of some portions of the current town as a necropolis area in the early Christian and Byzantine era. The underground environment has undergone multiple transformations in the following centuries, almost certainly to adapt it to new, mostly productive uses. Along the walls of the innermost room, cisterns and rooms of various shapes and dates are easily identifiable, testifying to the long chronological period of use of the space.

The ancient road, whose toponym would suggest that the area had been used as a stone supply area, was originally a natural depression, which began to be regularized and made passable already in Greek times, probably to make it easier to access to the sea. Used in Roman times, it underwent important renovation and reorganization works, especially in medieval times when several rooms dug directly into the height difference began to be recovered. The environments, to be defined as hypogeal, were intended for the most varied uses and retain traces, in some cases very evident, of the various eras in which they were protagonists. The study of historical sources, as well as archival research, has shown that a large part of these spaces intended for production or storage belonged to the nobles, clergy and religious orders present in the city. The fortune of this construction typology was linked above all to its underground identity which guaranteed safety (they were, in fact, inside the defense walls) and constant temperature which made them perfect for use as oil mills, cellars, granaries etc.

The Hypogean Oil Mill of Via Cava is one of the things not to be missed in the city of Taranto, it truly deserves to be visited. It is located on the site of the ancient Greek acropolis, it belongs to rock environments found in this ancient street, among which there are also the furnaces and the walkways of the patrol pass of the Byzantine walls , but also the old oil mills. It has been established that the Via Cava Hypogeum Oil Mill was built in phases between the Middle Ages and the 18th century, during which the tuff walls with barrel vaults were built. On the east and west fronts the openings appear to be intended for arcosolium tombs dating back to the early Christian period . Other rooms along the rock face appear to be intended for animal shelter. The oil mill is the only one located in the city and is dug into the rock. In fact, inside the site you can admire the presence of millstones for pressing and collection wells for settling the oil. The oil mill was renovated by the Municipality of Taranto and made visible to the public. After the restoration of the Hypogean Oil Mill of Via Cava, many tourists were able to see it and discover its beauty, a true treasure to be preserved. ***PH***