The Taranto family of Ustica rank 4th in size making them one of the largest families descended from the island. They are a first family of Ustica. In fact, there are 34 references of Taranto family members in the first five years of Ustica church records - the most of any family to initially settle the island. Those early references identify six individual families, although only two significantly contributed to the mass of descendants bearing the surname Taranto. The large Taranto family of Ustica were true "isolani", world travelers settling in all the familiar hot spots for people from Ustica - Naples, Lampedusa, French North Africa, and of course, the US.

Felice Taranto and Luciana Virgona were married on Lipari in 1739 and came to Ustica with their mostly adult children, some of them married on Lipari as well. Their descendants account for 44% of all of the Taranto family of Ustica. Both Felice Taranto and his wife Luciana Virgona die on Ustica, he in 1777 and she in 1796.

Our other Taranto forefather was another Felice Taranto. Felice's first wife was Francesca Reitano and they were married on Lipari about 1737. In 1759 on Lipari, Felice remarries to Angela Galletta. Felice Taranto and Angela Galletta settled on Ustica with children from both of Felice's marriages. Descendants from children of both marriages contribute significantly to current day Taranto descendants with a total of 32% of all the Taranto families of Ustica. Angela Galletta dies on Ustica in 1791 and Felice in 1793.

Both Felice's were cousins a few generations removed, with their common ancestors being Giovan Battista Taranto and Maria Perez. They were married about 1648 on Lipari. The Perez family is obviously descended from the Spanish who were so famously sent to the region to rebuild in the aftermath of the sack of Lipari by the Ottoman Turks in 1544. The Taranto family traces back one more generation to Giovan Giacomo Taranto and Lucrezia Sicura, who first appear in the Lipari church records in 1620 with the baptism record of their previously mentioned son, Giovan Battista Taranto. It appears to have been quite fashionable at the time to pair males names with the prefix for Giovanni - Giovan Maria, Giovan Leonardo, etc. All Taranto descendants of Ustica trace back neatly to Giovan Giacomo Taranto and Lucretia Sicura. There is no record of the family immigrating from another area but the lack of any Taranto records prior to 1620 and the fact the the surname Sicura is not common on Lipari, would suggest otherwise. Another unrelated branch of the family in a 1722 Lipari baptism record, documents the father, Battista Taranto, as being "Mylatiensi". This is interpreted as being a person from "Mylatio", perhaps the modern day city of Melito di Napoli on the northwest fringe of the city of Naples. This is just conjecture at this point. We have a familiar name, Battista, and a possible known location, Melito di Napoli, but there just is not enough evidence there to make that assertion confidently.

Excerpt from a Lipari baptism record showing a Battista Taranto who is not an ancestor of the Taranto family of Ustica but may give a clue to the family's ancient origins. He is "Mylatiensi" possibly indicating the family is from an area near Naples. More evidence is needed to back this up.