Manduria is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Taranto. With c. 30,000 inhabitants, it is located 35 km east of Taranto, and 14 km north of the coast. It was an important stronghold of the Messapii against Taras. Archidamus III, king of Sparta, fell beneath its walls in 338 BC, while leading the army of the latter (Manduria is also referred to as "Mandonion" in works by the Greek and Roman historian Plutarch). Manduria revolted against Hannibal, but was taken in 209 BC. Pliny the Elder mentions Manduria in Natural History. He describes a well with a strangely constant water level. No matter how much water was taken out the water level never changed. The well also features an almond tree growing right from the middle of the well shaft. The well may still be seen today. The town was destroyed by the Saracens in the 10th century. The inhabitants rebuilt on the site of the present town, which they renamed Casalnuovo. In 1700 they took back the ancient name of Manduria. The modern city is close to the site of the ancient Manduria, considerable remains of the defences of which can still be seen; they consisted of a double line of wall built of rectangular blocks of stone, without mortar, and with a broad ditch in front. Ancient tombs with gold ornaments were found in 1886. The symbol of the city is a well with an almond tree growing from the center, which was mentioned by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia, a work published in the 1st century AD. The well (named Fonte Pliniano after Pliny the Elder ) can still be seen today exactly as it was described some 2,000 years ago, with the almond tree still rising out of the center. Other sights include: Primitivo di Manduria is a heavy, blunt red wine; an effect of the warm growing conditions in Southern Italy's Apulia region. The quality of Primitivo wine has been recognized in Italy for centuries. It was once mainly used for blending by more commercially successful wineries in Northern Italy. They relied on it to give their wines depth. Because of a general lack of commercialization in Apulia, Primitivo is still largely unknown outside of Italy. Small-scale producers have a hard time reaching the international market to compete on the same level as more famous Italian wine varieties. The Primitivo grape variety was discovered to be genetically similar to California's Zinfandel. It has its roots in the oldest of wine traditions