The promenade, which has become famous as an ideal walking route for admiring the famous Taranto sunsets, was already born with the construction of the Borgo Umbertino.

During the Fascist period, the entire area was affected by important redesign works designed by Ferdinando Bonavolta who imagined it as a real business center and the perfect backdrop for the great monumental architectures that would soon characterize it. During the Fascist period, in fact, the whole area was the subject of important monumental works aimed at giving further architectural prestige to the city of Taranto and its important role in the political and cultural events of the time. The large palaces, whose designs and executions were entrusted to the greatest architects working especially in the capital (Brasini and Bazzani, just to name a few), helped to create an extremely scenographic view of the sea that over time had been enriched with picturesque bathing establishments on stilts.

A short distance from the coast, on the horizon, it is easy to outline the silhouettes of the islands of San Pietro and San Paolo (also known as the Cheradi Islands). In ancient times the small archipelago consisted of three islands of which the smallest, called "San Nicolicchio", was lost with the construction of the Mercantile Port. The island was called by the fishermen in dialect "u 'squegghie" (the rock - to indicate its small size) and was located a short distance from Punta Rondinella. The dedication to San Nicolicchio was due to the presence of a small Greek rite abbey, dedicated to San Nicola di Myra.

The first to pass on the name of Cheradi (promontory or horns) was Tucidide, even if the study of ancient sources recalls that the Greeks used to call them Electrides, perhaps in honor of Electra, the daughter of the god Poseidon much revered in Taranto (the same legendary founder of the polis, Taras, was the son of Poseidon), or more likely this name was attributed to them because bituminous trees that produced electro or amber grew luxuriantly on them. With the advent of Christianity, the two islands of San Pietro and San Paolo assumed the names of Santa Pelagia and Sant'Andrea respectively, almost certainly in reference to the presence of two churches that were built there in honor of the Saints.

According to tradition, in the fourth century the largest island was inhabited by Santa Sofronia Tarantina, an anchorite and martyr, to later host an influential Basilian monastery dedicated to San Pietro Imperiale. According to the study of the sources, the two islands belonged to the Chapter and to the clergy of the city and, according to the documents of the time, they were renowned for fishing sardines as well as other fish specialties that guaranteed huge economic income in the coffers of the local church.

In 1594 the islands were occupied by the Turks led by Alì Sinam Bassà, who entered the harbor of Taranto with one hundred ships and were used as a convenient outpost for raids in the hinterland.

Perfect place to manage the siege, they became the starting point of the various attacks that the city suffered until 19 September of the same year, when with the Battle of the Tara river, the Christian forces led by the bishops of Mottola and Taranto, defeated the Turks driving them out definitively from the Ionian coasts. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Napoleon Bonaparte had a fort built on the island of San Paolo to defend the port of Taranto under the command of the General of Artillery Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The well-known French soldier, who went down in history for his war skills, his studies in ballistics and his activity as a man of letters, was the author of the famous epistolary novel "The Dangerous Relationships". On his death (1803), refusing religious comfort, he was buried on the island where his tomb is still preserved today.

With the unification of Italy, the islands were brought to the attention of the maritime authorities passing from the assets of the Chapter to those of the Kingdom to become, with the construction of the naval base of Taranto, an integral part of the defense works.

The Island of San Pietro is one of the most important places in the rich Tarantine Petrine tradition. According to legend, in fact, St. Peter would have come to Taranto at least twice during his evangelization activity, performing some miracles in the City of the Two Seas, baptizing the people of Taranto and appointing the first Bishop of the Diocese.

Traditionally it is said that St. Peter landed on the island of Santa Pelagia to escape a storm that had caught him during the navigation, having reached the island he thanked God for the escaped danger by genuflecting and leaving the imprint of his knees in the rock on the which he had leaned on. The stone, which has become a relic, was given the name of "apodonia". Stolen by Venetian sailors, it was transported to Venice.