The second edition of the event “Taranto chiAma Sparta” will take place on 7th of March 2026, in the Aula Magna of the University in the Old Town of Taranto.
The organizers are the cultural associations Dopolavoro Filellenico (active since 2009, president Professor Giancarlo Antonucci), and the Società Filellenica Italiana (based in Cava de’ Tirreni, president Professor Marco Galdi).
The speaker will be Dr. Niki Koutraku, a Byzantinist historian and diplomat, former cultural advisor at the embassy in Rome, subsequently Ambassador of Greece to Algeria and currently diplomatic advisor to the Mayor of Athens and honorary member of Dopolavoro Filellenico.
The event is held under the patronage of the Embassy of Greece in Italy, the Region of Apulia, and the Municipality of Taranto.
The theme chosen for the 2026 edition by the speaker is: “Medieval Sparta, image and reality. Parallel lives with Taranto?”, a fascinating topic that has rarely been explored in the past and will undoubtedly shed new light on the historical relationship between the two communities.
The conference will be live-streamed on the channel of the Società Filellenica Italiana at the link “Taranto ChiAma Sparta – II Edition”.
Alternatively, it will also be available live on the YouTube channel of Dopolavoro Filellenico at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sexHKxrqE58
The scientific part will conclude with moments of entertainment from the invited guests, some of whom are expected to come from Greece. In the first edition, a delegation from the Municipality of Sparta was invited, headed by Deputy Mayor Diamando Vaiakàku, together with several Spartan citizens. This year, in addition to institutional invitations, several Spartan artists are expected to perform their works.
The programme includes performances of Greek and Italian songs and musical pieces by the Taranto-based musical association “Falanto Chorus”, conducted by Maestro Nicola Luzzi.
Of particular importance is the support offered by the socio-health volunteer association Fidas, aimed at raising awareness about blood donation.
The spirit of the initiative is the desire to forge ever closer friendships with the Spartan community (which, incidentally, loves Taranto), as well as to lay the foundations for commercial, social, and professional relations between the two cities, encouraging the two municipal administrations to complete a provisional but never finalized twinning agreement, while at the same time exploring the historical ties between the two cities.