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The city is situated in the province ofSyracuse and faces theIonian Sea. The old town is an island, made in the 16th century by cutting anisthmus, now connected to the Sicilian mainland by two bridges. One bridge was built around the 12th or 13th century as part of the Frederick II of Swabia Viaduct. And the other, older bridge was built when the city was founded and is called thePorta Spagnola. Augusta is currently home to two ports.
Founded 27 centuries ago,Megara Hyblaea is one of the oldest Greek colonies of Sicily. It was destroyed by its rival Syracuse, was raised from its ruins, then taken by the Romans together with Syracuse during the Second Punic War. It remains an archaeological site, a testimony of the organization of a Greek colony of the Archaic period.
In 1675 its harbor was the site of anaval battle between the Dutch-Spanish and the French fleets. The town suffered a major earthquake and tsunami in1693.[5]
Bombardment of Augusta on 13 May 1943
During World War II Augusta was a hotbed of anti-Mussolini sentiment and anti-fascist sentiment more generally, as was all of Sicily.[6] Because of the strongarm tactics that the Mussolini regime used to subdue Sicily, the fascist regime was very unpopular on the island, including in Augusta.[7] When British and American forces arrived in Sicily, the Sicilians did not regard them as conquering invaders but rather greeted them as "emancipators come to lift the evil burden of fascism from their shoulders."[8][9] All across Sicily the invading forces were greeted with relief and often with unbridled enthusiasm.[10]
DuringOperation Husky, the combined British and American effort to dislodge fascist forces from Sicily, the plan was for British forces underGeneral Montgomery to capture Augusta during the first few days of the operation. This part of the operation went entirely according to plan and Augusta wascaptured on July 13, 1943, by theBritish Eighth Army, led by Britain'sGeneral Montgomery. Almost immediately thereafter British forces began moving north towardsCatania.[11]