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This medal has been minted to commemorate a beautiful silver coin of the ancient Magna Graecia, the city of Taranto, c. 380 - 340 BC.
This SILVER medaille has been minted in 100 pieces in SILVER and 400 and in bronze.
This one has the number XIV/C on the rim.
Taranto (/təˈræntoʊ/, also US: /təˈrɑːntoʊ, ˈtɑːrəntoʊ, -rɑːn-/; Italian: [ˈtaːranto] (listen); Tarantino: Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; early Italian: Tarento; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base.
av. Nude youth on horseback to left, holding shield and rein
rv. Taras astride dolphin to left, holding wreath in outstretched right hand; ΤAPAΣ downwards behind
diameter – 42 mm, (ca 1⅝”)
weight – 52.70 gr, (1.86 oz)
metal – SILVER, authentic, natural patina
Taranto's pre-history dates back to 706 BC when it was founded as a Greek colony, established by the Spartans. The ancient city was situated on a peninsula; the modern city has been built over the ancient Greek city of which only a few ruins remain, including part of the city wall, two temple columns dating to the 6th century BC, and tombs.
The Greek colonists from Sparta called the city Taras (Τάρας; GEN Τάραντος Tarantos) after the mythical hero Taras, while the Romans, who connected the city to Rome with an extension of the Appian way, called it Tarentum.
The islets of S. Pietro and S. Paolo (St. Peter and St. Paul), collectively known as Cheradi Islands, protect the bay, called Mar Grande (Big Sea), where the commercial port is located. Taranto is known for the large population of dolphins and other cetaceans living near these islands. Another bay, called Mar Piccolo (Little Sea), is formed by the peninsula of the old city and has flourishing fishing.
At the end of the 19th century, a channel was excavated to allow naval ships to enter the Mar Piccolo harbour, and the ancient Greek city become an island connected to the mainland by bridges. The islets and the coast are strongly fortified and Mar Piccolo is a naval port with strategic importance. Because of the presence of these two bays, Taranto is also called "the city of the two seas".
Tarentum has been founded by Spartans in the 8th century BC during the period of Greek colonisation, Taranto was among the most important in Magna Graecia, becoming a cultural, economic and military power that gave birth to philosophers, strategists, writers and athletes such as Archytas, Aristoxenus, Livius Andronicus, Heracleides, Iccus, Cleinias, Leonidas, Lysis and Sosibius. By 500 BC, the city was among the largest in the world, with a population estimated up to 300,000 people. The seven-year rule of Archytas marked the apex of its development and recognition of its hegemony over other Greek colonies of southern Italy.
During the Norman period, it became the capital of the Principality of Taranto, which covered almost all of the heel of Apulia.
Taranto is now the third-largest continental city in southern Italy (south of Rome, roughly the southern half of the Italian peninsula), with well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, naval shipyards and food-processing factories.
Magna Graecia (/ˌmæɡnə ˈɡriːsjə, ˈɡriːʃə/, US: /ˌmæɡnə ˈɡreɪʃə/; Latin meaning "Greater Greece", Ancient Greek: Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, Megálē Hellás, Italian: Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day regions of Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily; these regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers. These settlers, who began arriving in the 8th century BC, brought with them their Hellenic civilization, which left a lasting imprint on Italy, such as in the culture of ancient Rome. They also influenced the native peoples, such as the Sicels and the Oenotrians, who became hellenised after they adopted the Greek culture as their own.
The term Magna Graecia first appears in Polybius' Histories. The Roman poet Ovid notably referred to the south of Italy as such in his poem Fasti.