| Gulf of Taranto | |
| Native Name: | |
| Image Bathymetry: | Gulf of Taranto map.png |
| Caption Bathymetry: | Map of the Gulf of Taranto |
| Coordinates: | 39.885°N 17.2769°W |
| Type: | gulf |
| Etymology: | after the city of Taranto |
| Part Of: | Ionian Sea |
| Inflow: | Agri, Basento, Sinni, Calandro River |
| Outflow: | Mediterranean Sea |
| Basin Countries: | Italy |
| Islands: | Cheradi |
| Cities: | Taranto, Gallipoli, Crotone |
The Gulf of Taranto (Italian: Golfo di Taranto; Tarantino: Neapolitan: Gurfe de Tarde; Latin: Sinus Tarentinus) is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in Southern Italy.
The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, 140km (90miles) long and wide, making it the largest gulf in Italy, and it is delimited by the capes Santa Maria di Leuca (to the east, in Apulia) and Colonna (the ancient Lacinium, to the west, in Calabria), encompassed by the three regions of Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria. The most important rivers are the Basento, the Sinni, and the Agri.
The main cities on the gulf are Taranto and Gallipoli. Also the Greek colonies (Magna Graecia) of Kroton, Heraclea, Thurii, and Sybaris were founded on the Gulf of Taranto.
Italy claims the whole gulf as national waters, thus closed to international traffic. This position, which is similar to that of Libya on the Gulf of Sidra, is not recognized by some other countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.[1]