| Castellaneta | |
| Official Name: | Città di Castellaneta |
| Native Name: | Griko Greek, Modern (1453-);: Castanea |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Coordinates: | 40.6333°N 72°W |
| Region: | Apulia |
| Province: | Taranto (TA) |
| Frazioni: | Marina di Castellaneta, Gaudella |
| Area Total Km2: | 242.32 |
| Population Total: | 17069 |
| Population As Of: | 31 December 2013 |
| Population Demonym: | Castellanetani |
| Elevation M: | 245 |
| Saint: | St. Nicholas and St. Francis of Paola |
| Day: | December 8 |
| Postal Code: | 74011 |
| Area Code: | 099 |
Castellaneta (Tarantino: Neapolitan: Castelanéte) is a city and comune in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, about 40km (30miles) from Taranto. Located in a territory spanning from the Murgia to the Ionian Sea, characterized by numerous gravina (ravines), it is part of the Comunità Montana della Murgia Tarantina (Tarentine Murgia Mountain Community).
Human settlements were present in the area since the Bronze Age (3rd–2nd millennium BC), and it was later probably settled by Sicels, Messapii and Iapyges.According to a theory, a fortified city (Castania in Latin) was founded in 550 and grew in size when the population of neighbouring cities fled there from Saracen attacks. Other historians maintain instead that it was a Greek colony which existed until the 8th century. When the Saracens destroyed it, the inhabitants joined in a Castellum Unitum (United Castle) on the hills, whence the current name.
Whatever its origin, Castellaneta was conquered by the Normans in 1064, taken by Duke Robert of Taranto, who expelled its Byzantine inhabitants. At that time, probably, the episcopal see was created. In the 13th century Charles of Anjou turned it first into a fief, and later into a King's city.
In 1503, during the Italian Wars, the citizens pushed back a French occupation force under the Duke of Nemours, in the so-called "Sack of Castellaneta". In 1519 the Spaniards sold it to Flemish feudatories, and thenceforth the city started to decline as secondary centre.
In 1944, Castellaneta was bombed by the withdrawing German military, killing 27 people. The city received a bronze medal for civic valour.
A six-story apartment building in the city collapsed in February 1985, killing 21 people and injuring 9. The foundation was believed to have been severely weakened by torrential rains following a harsh winter in Italy.[1]
Actor Rudolph Valentino was born in Castellaneta in 1895. The ancestors of Dan Castellaneta, an actor/voice actor best known for his work on The Simpsons, were from the city.