The Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea, in line with the objectives underlying the Authority 2020-2022 Three-Year Operational Plan (see action no. 11 of the POT - strategic objective “Port and Territory”) is the promoter of the “Open Port - Exhibition Centre of the Port of Taranto” project, a container for the dissemination of maritime and port culture that aims to become the first port centre in Southern Italy, as well as a hub of immersive experiences capable of connecting the port with the city of Taranto, acting as an educational, information and interaction centre open to citizens.
Born with the aim of celebrating the sea resource, in April 2022 the “Open Port” project presented itself to the digital community with its website www.tarantopenport.com , which involves sailors from all over the world in an unprecedented path of discovery not only of content but of informative, educational and immersive experiences united by a common objective: to open the port of Taranto to the city and to the national and international audience of port cities, encouraging interaction, with a view to transnational cultural exchange, towards the creation of a new way of experiencing the port heritage.
The launch of the virtual port centre comes at the conclusion of the planning activities that contributed to the activation, in the port city of Taranto, of an unprecedented process of construction of the themes and activities that today animate the virtual Open Port.
Conceived as an interactive tool for the dissemination of maritime-port culture, the Open Port website has been developed through a dynamic and participatory design process implemented with the support of a team of professional experts in museum communication and the valuable collaboration of numerous players - public and private, local, national and international - who, in various capacities, have contributed to enriching the website with new content. Men and Women who, with great enthusiasm and lively participation, have contributed to the propagation of knowledge and port anecdotes, but also to the sharing of documentary and iconographic material, historical references and first-hand accounts.
The portal - soon to be available also in English - mostly uses an original and modern informational language for the enhancement of storytelling: the navigation of the virtual port centre develops, in fact, between nodes of a network, each of which refers to in-depth information, research and contacts, with an entirely customised use by the visitor.
The narration of the themes and of the port reality follows a logic centred on the ecomuseum, aimed at bringing to life and understanding the richness of the network of connections between places, people, events and projects. Open Port does this through seven thematic sections:
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THE PROJECT, which illustrates the various steps in the realisation of the portal, from the choice of the logo to the network of collaboration developed for the creation of the various contents;
THE PORT, which includes, among other things, an interactive map of the contemporary multifunctional port and a dynamic infographic on the port of Taranto
PORT LIFE, a fascinating journey through time and space between port and city, in a network of places, activities and memories between past, present and future;
PORT PEOPLE, a section dedicated to the human and emotional side of the port, narrated through the faces, voices and sounds that animate the Ionian port of call, with direct testimonies from the port cluster;
TIMELINE, a journey through the port of Taranto from the Neolithic age to the establishment of the Port Authority;
ARTS RITUALS AND MYTHS, which offers an interpretation of the port of Taranto through a literary, cinematographic and in-depth journey of rituals linked to the sea, including myths and legends;
BLOG, a section that freezes the strategic vision of the virtual Port Centre from the perspective of sustainability, public participation and a sense of belonging, also inviting citizens, students, associations and scholars (and not only!) to make original contributions in the virtual network of the port centre, constructing unique, individual and collective visions of “Taranto, my city-port”.
The evolving nature of the project will constantly search for content, testimonies, images and historical films, to create new ones, to find places and objects capable of telling a story, with ambassadors who bring their experience and their idea of the future, to create narratives and metaphors of what the port and the city are at present and want to become. All this by imagining routes and connections from the port centre to the streets of a city, suspended between the sea, a large industrial area and the hinterland.
Open Port will find its future physical location in the Falanto building that will house the Port of Taranto Exhibition Centre, making it an international cultural, educational and tourist attraction.
Follow Open Port also on the project official social media channels:
