Augusta
[key], city, E Sicily, Italy, on an island (formerly a peninsula) in the Ionian Sea,
connected by bridge with the Sicilian mainland. It is a leading port and a fishing and
industrial center. Manufactures include refined petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, and
fertilizer. The city was a Greek settlement and then a Roman military base. It was refounded
by Emperor Frederick II in 1232 and later (15th–early 16th cent.) was a thriving
banking town. Augusta was badly damaged by earthquakes in 1693 and 1848. Of note is Frederick
II's castle (now a penitentiary).
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