Milazzo

Milazzo occupies the site of ancient Mylae, a sub-colony of Zankle (Messina) founded in 717-716 BC on Sicily's northeastern coast. Archaeological evidence spans from the Middle Bronze Age, with necropolises from the 15th-13th centuries BC, through Iron Age urnfields (11th-9th centuries BC) to Hellenistic cemeteries. The site is historically famous for the Battle of Mylae in 260 BC, where Consul Gaius Duilius won Rome's first naval victory against Carthage using iron grappling hooks called corvi. The ancient habitation centre likely lies beneath the medieval castle on the acropolis.