Augusta
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Augusta >(SR): (formerly Agosta). A commune in the province of Siracusa, situated on the eastern coast of Sicily. It has an important harbor which provides about 12 sq. miles of excellent anchorage. Population: 33,820 (2001). Some sources state that the Roman Emperor Augustus founded a city here of the site of earlier Xiphonia. If so, no remains have survived of these earlier ancient centers. There are some prehistoric burials and Christian catacombs discovered at Molinello, a few km away. The existing city was founded by the Emperor Frederick II, who populated it with deported rebels from the city of Centuripe in 1242. He named the place Augusta Veneranda (= “a grand place worthy of veneration”). The city was rebuilt after suffering destruction in 1360 at the hands of an army from neighboring Syracuse and Catania. In 1676, during an attempted Sicilian revolt against Spanish rule, the French admiral Duquesne defeated his Dutch counterpart, De Ruyter, in the nearby waters. The city was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1693 and had to be rebuilt again.