Palazzo Ameglio, formerly known as Palazzo Savino, is one of the most representative historic buildings in the New City of Taranto. Located on Corso ai Due Mari, beyond the Swing Bridge, overlooking the Navigable Canal, its construction was part of the urban expansion process initiated after the Unification of Italy, necessary due to the overcrowding and difficult hygienic-sanitary conditions of the old city. The expansion plan was entrusted to the Taranto architect Davide Conversano....Read more
Palazzo Ameglio, formerly known as Palazzo Savino, is one of the most representative historic buildings in the New City of Taranto. Located on Corso ai Due Mari, beyond the Swing Bridge, overlooking the Navigable Canal, its construction was part of the urban expansion process initiated after the Unification of Italy, necessary due to the overcrowding and difficult hygienic-sanitary conditions of the old city. The expansion plan was entrusted to the Taranto architect Davide Conversano. Built in 1869 by lawyer Domenico Savino and designed by engineer Giovanni Galeone, it was originally named Palazzo Savino. In 1912, it was acquired by Baron Ameglio Marida Acton, from whom it takes its current name, and was completed in 1913. During World War II, it housed the English Command. The building, with a rectangular layout, features two symmetrical inner courtyards with respect to the entrance and a structure made of load-bearing walls, vaults, and mezzanine floors, partly covered by a gabled roof and partly by a flat terrace. The façade is made of regular blocks of carparo stone, enriched by rectangular pilasters with marble capitals and balustrades made of conglomerate of marble chips. The main portal, in tuff stone, is framed by paired Doric columns; inside the atrium, covered by lunette and sail vaults and paved with cement tiles, a dramatic central staircase with a pincer shape unfolds. Inside, there are also portals with Renaissance-style lintels in tuff and stucco. The first floor, the noble floor, houses reception halls and a library. Today, Palazzo Ameglio is the seat of the Delegation of Terre d'Otranto of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, established in Taranto on June 8, 1997, and responsible for the provinces of Taranto, Brindisi, and Lecce. The Order carries out healthcare, social, and humanitarian activities worldwide through a wide network of members, volunteers, medical personnel, associations, and relief organizations. The palace also retains a symbolic and cultural function for the city and is often chosen as a setting for wedding photo shoots.
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