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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