Gateways, seaways, and straits are physical elements of sedimentary basins that are hierarchically distinguished based on their dimensions and temporal persistence. The term ‘gateway’ applies to any oceanographic or marine connection, regardless of its size (width and length), duration, and depth (shallow vs. deep water). Seaways are broad marine passages, spanning from 100s to 1000s of kilometres in width, and active in the range from 100s of years to 10s of kyr in geological time. Straits are narrower passageways, connecting sub-basins within larger marine areas, persisting for no longer than 10 kyr and producing a distinct sedimentary record as individual depositional systems.In this paper, we focus on the Modern Central-Mediterranean Gateway (MCMG), nowadays represented by the coalescent Strait of Sicily, Egadi Islands and the Messina Strait. These connections, linking the western with the eastern Mediterranean sub-basins, drive continuous tidally-modulated water exchange and sediment transport, representing an example of a modern gateway. Then, we provide field-based examples of the sedimentary record of the former gateway, referred to as the Ancient Central-Mediterranean Gateway (ACMG), here represented by four major straits that developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary along localized grabens dissecting the southernmost edge of the Italian peninsula. We discuss the geological features of each of these straits, along with their depositional architectures and facies. These elements record the initiation of specific depositional processes, possibly enhanced by a stronger penetration of the Atlantic Water Inflow from the Gibraltar Strait, reinforced by the onset of the northern hemisphere glaciation.