taranto mon amour + steel or life

Taranto, known as the city of the two seas, lies on the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea. The city is world-famous for its olive groves and mussels, for the dolphins and whales that swim in the gulf, and for the magnificent crags that adorn the coastal landscape. But the city itself is dying.

Taranto, known as the city of the two seas, lies on the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea. The city is world-famous for its olive groves and mussels, for the dolphins and whales that swim in the gulf, and for the magnificent crags that adorn the coastal landscape. But the city itself is dying. Many houses are in danger of collapsing, their facades are crumbling. Within a radius of 20 kilometres, no animals are allowed to graze, vegetables may not be grown, mussels may no longer be eaten.

The ILVA, the biggest steelworks in Europe, a colossus built in the sixties, poisons the water, air and ground - and makes Taranto the most heavily polluted city in Europe. But the steelworks also accounts for 70% of its economic performance, and that in a city with one of the highest unemployment rates in Italy.

In nearly every family someone is ill, every family has lost a near relative. Numerous studies show that: In the area around the steelworks people fall ill more often than average - above all with malevolent tumours and leukaemia. ILVA employees as much as 10 times more often than the national average. Mainly children are affected. A study commissioned by the “Istituto di Sanità” showed that children get cancer 54% more often and have a 21% higher chance of dying in Taranto compared to the rest of Apulia. A further study also showed that children living near the factory have a lower IQ.