The Augusta Bay is located on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, about 270 nm south-southeast of Naples. In the ancient period it was called Xiphonius portus. The modern Capo di Santa Croce was called Xiphonian Promontory. Diodorus Siculus mentions that the Carthaginian fleet touched at Xiphonia on its way to Syracuse, Sicily. Stephanus of Byzantium wrote about a town there which was called Xiphonia (Ξιφωνία), but most probably he made a mistake, since no other known ancient author mentioned it.