Cozza Nera di Taranto

Taranto has farmed mussels and other molluscs for as long as there are records: oysters were already a trade in the late Roman period and again in the Middle Ages, on the strength of the low salinity of the Mar Piccolo. In the 16th century the city's rulers set down rules in the Libro Rosso against overfishing the lagoons and against destructive gear, and that text became one of the foundations of Italian fishing law. The black mussel is first named in 1525 as a native species: Mytilus galloprovincialis, nearly quadrangular, two valves of 5 to 8 cm, glossy black-purple, striated and curved outward at the centre.