| Province of Taranto | |
| Native Name Lang: | it |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Italy |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Apulia |
| Seat Type: | Capital(s) |
| Seat: | Taranto |
| Parts Type: | Comuni |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 29 |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Giovanni Gugliotti (Forza Italia) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 2437 |
| Population Total: | 581092 |
| Population As Of: | 30 September 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | €9.780 billion (2015) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | €16,655 (2015) |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 74100 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone prefix |
| Area Code: | 099 |
| Registration Plate: | TA |
| Blank Name Sec1: | ISTAT |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 073 |
The province of Taranto (Italian: provincia di Taranto; Tarantino: Neapolitan: provìgne de Tarde; Salentino: Sicilian: provincia ti Tàrantu), previously known as the province of the Ionian, is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Taranto. It has an area of 2437km2, and a total population of 581,092 (2017). The province contains 29 comuni (: comune).[2] The coat of arms of the province contains a scorpion, which Pyrrhus is thought to have seen when looking down at Taranto.
When Italy was unified, the province of Lecce was formed; the western section of this later became the current province of Taranto.[3] On 23 September 1923, Taranto became the capital of a new province based on the ancient Terra d'Otranto, in recognition of the important role the city had served since ancient times. Until 1951, the new province was called the "Province of the Ionian".[4]
The scorpion on the city's coat of arms may have been used as its emblem in ancient times,[5] on the suggestion of Pyrrhus of Epirus, who was an ally of Taranto in a war against Rome: the scorpion is shown lying on its back with three lilies, holding the crown of the Principality of Taranto between its claws. Pyrrhus, who was king of Epirus, looked down on the city from the hills that surround it and had the idea that its shape was like the figure of a scorpion. This emblem has also been seen as a psychological deterrent to the city's enemies, who came to look on Magna Graecia as being as dangerous as a scorpion.[6] The earliest verified use of a scorpion on the coat of arms of Taranto is from 400 AD.[6]