Island of Corsica
Corsica is a large Mediterranean island that became part of France in the 18th century. In two and a half centuries of living together, fundamentally nothing has changed for the islanders. Corsicans still do not recognize themselves as French and are offended if they are counted among their Italian neighbors. The isolation of Corsica has its pluses: the landscapes sung in the novels of Prosper Mérimée still retain their original appeal. For their sake, tourists are willing to put up with underdeveloped infrastructure. To be fair, it should be noted that part of Corsica is covered by progress, and fashionable recreation areas on the coast around the major cities meet all international standards.
Video: Island of Corsica
” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen> Contents- A brief history of Corsica
- Ethnographic features of the Corsicans
Natural attractions of Corsica - Hiking trails
- Beaches
- Diving, Yachting, fishing and hunting
- Corsica’s handmade attractions
- Sights of the island’s small communes
- Tourist information
A brief history of Corsica
Corsica’s historical destiny is due to its geographical position. The leading trading nations of Europe fought for centuries for the right to use it as an intermediate base for ships, and pirates considered it an ideal source of rich rewards. The process of continuous confrontation was so exciting that many islanders in peacetime got bored, left their homes and went to sea robbers themselves.
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Ethnographic features of Corsicans
Modern Corsica consists of small commune settlements and several coastal towns. In the average village, nestled on the mountainside, are old houses of light-colored stone with red-tiled roofs. Their owners are engaged in agriculture: they grow grapes, graze sheep and pigs. On the coast they fish and serve tourists staying in the resort areas. They live here not rich, according to statistics, there are a lot of unemployed people in Corsica, and at the same time there are more luxury cars on the island than in other regions of France.
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Locals know French, but communicate among themselves in Corsican, a related language to Italian. Corsicans have problems with English: even in tourist towns, hotel and restaurant staff do not always speak the language. Most travelers consider the islanders quite withdrawn and unfriendly compared to the inhabitants of mainland France. It is not customary for them to give rides to voters on the road – a centuries-old instinct is at work, which makes them suspicious of strangers. Relations within the family, where all relatives are included, are still important for Corsicans, but the traditions of vendetta, blood feud, are far in the past.
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Natural attractions of Corsica
Despite its modest size, with a maximum length of 183 km and a width of 83 km, Corsica amazes tourists with its variety of landscapes. Low snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, small rivers and glacial lakes, olive groves, thickets of thorny bushes, semi-desert plains devastated by fires, flowering steppes, white sand beaches, rocky seashores – all these are the hallmarks of Corsica. At the service of tourists – highways, yacht rentals, hiking trails.
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Hiking Trails
The best way to explore the island’s natural attractions is by traveling along the GR20 hiking route. Its starting points are Calenzana, near the town of Calvi, in the north and the village of Conca, half an hour by bus from Porto Vecchio, in the south. The railroad passes through the central point of the route, the village of Vizzavona. Marked with red and white stripes, the 180-kilometer trail passes through the Corsica National Park. It is divided into 15 stages, which can be completed in one to two weeks with a backpack loaded with provisions and warm clothing.
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Beaches
Not all tourists are ready to wander along beautiful, but devoid of any amenities. They prefer beach vacations on the sea coast of Corsica, washed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea from the west and the Tyrrhenian Sea from the east. Typical wild beaches can be found on the northern tip of the island, in the commune of Ersa: white sand, pebbles sharpened by water, clean sea and almost complete lack of service, because the entire population of the nearby villages is 150 people.
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Among the recognized centers of beach tourism are the town of Saint-Florent with nearby Saleccia beach and the outskirts of Bastia. 10 km west of it – the commune Farinole with sand and pebble coast, 40 km north – Roliano with a marina for 500 ships, half of which – pleasure yachts. The beach of La Marana is characterized by a developed infrastructure, but the sea is not very clean due to the proximity of the Bastia port. There are about 20 beaches near Ajaccio, the capital of the region, but the most comfortable ones are in the south of Corsica, on the coast between Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio. At the beginning and end of the season Santa Giulia is especially popular: the coast is quite shallow here, so the water warms up quickly.
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Diving, yachting, fishing and hunting
Of the active recreation in Corsica, diving is the most popular. For beginners are open 80 diving schools along the coast. The cost of diving about 50 euros, you can save almost twice if you buy a season ticket. Night fishing near Ajaccio will cost 100 euros per person. Tourists are attracted to diving centers near Calvi, where several aircraft and sea vessels of World War II wrecked, excellent visibility is characterized by coastal waters near Bonifacio. The area is also windy enough for surfing. The hunting season in Corsica is short, from August to October. Rental of equipment and escort to the place of hunting costs about 200 euros per day, and no one guarantees the production in the form of boars and birds.
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Handmade Sights of Corsica
The coast of the island is covered with a network of massive round towers, built during Genoese rule from local stone. The identical structures differ only in the degree of preservation and simple names: White, Black or after the nearest village. They successfully guarded the shores of Corsica from the raids of Berber pirates, and later, in the XVIII century, were used in the struggle for independence.
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Attractions of small communes of the island
Port Bastia
Huddled on a narrow coastal strip of northwestern Corsica, Bastia is France’s largest port in terms of cargo transported. The old port, which operated under Genoese rule, has become a historical landmark and is only open to visitors in summer. In the city center there are many interesting monuments: the Genoese Governor’s Palace, the fortress, or Terra Nova, the churches of the Holy Cross and St. John the Baptist, known for the original interiors of the XVI century. The town and its surroundings are sunny but windy in high season, creating ideal conditions for sailing. Ferries from Italy and France come to Bastia, sometimes because of the flow of passengers on the roads there are traffic jams.
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Korte is the historic capital of the island
Declared by Pascal Paoli as the capital of independent Corsica, Corte is located at the foot of the mountains, in the edge of small glacial lakes. The seven-thousand-strong town is built up with old 3-4-story houses. A tour of the town does not do without mentioning Napoleon’s name – his elder brother was born here. In the XVIII century fortress, built on the foundations of Genoese fortifications, the Corsica Museum with an interesting ethnographic collection is open. During the summer season it is open from 10 am to 8 pm without weekends, the cost of a full ticket is 5.3 euros. Corte is connected with Ajaccio and Bastia by highway, and there is also a railroad.
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Calvi is the legendary birthplace of Columbus
Tiny northwestern Calvi is intervening in a dispute between Spanish and Italian towns for the right to be considered the birthplace of Columbus. Local historians believe he concealed the fact that he was born here because of the unenviable international reputation of the Genoese and Calvi in particular, as the place served as a haven for sea robbers. A more obvious historical fact is the loss of Admiral Nelson’s eye when the town was shelled from the sea. Summer tourism is developed here, from October to November there is an annual Wind Festival – a celebration of art and sports, which is attended by artists, musicians, actors, yachtsmen, surfers and paragliders.
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The capital city of Ajaccio is Napoleon’s city
The cult of the emperor is the first thing tourists will encounter on the streets of the Corsican capital. Souvenirs, monuments, toponyms are associated, if not with Napoleon himself, then with his relatives. Thus, the square Letizia with the house-museum of Bonaparte was named in honor of his mother. You can visit the museum in high season from 10:30 to 18:00 hours for 7 euros. Next to the square is the yacht club and the colonial-style Ajaccio Cathedral. A 10-minute walk north is the house of Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon’s uncle, which houses an interesting collection of paintings – canvases by Titian and Botticelli. Admission to the museum costs 8 euros.
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Fashionable Bonifacio
The tiny town, one of the most picturesque in Europe, is nestled in two tiers in the very south of Corsica, a half-hour ferry ride from Sardinia. Tickets cost about 20 euros. The upper, historic part of Bonifacio overhangs on a cliff above the sea, the classic resort area surrounds the marina below. The surrounding area has golf courses, campgrounds, and some of the best beaches on the island.
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Tourist Porto Vecchio
The historic part of Porto Vecchio lying on the southeastern coast – the traditional towers and fortress walls – can be explored in a couple of hours and the rest of the time devoted to tourist activities: fishing, visiting nightclubs and restaurants. In the vicinity of the town are preserved ancient walls, half-hidden in the picturesque thickets.
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Tourist Information
Corsica’s service industry is gradually reorienting itself towards tourists, even in the remote province: modest stores and eateries open in the summer in tiny villages with a few dozen inhabitants. In season it is hot and dry, especially in July and August, in winter it is cool rather than frosty. It is colder in the mountains, with snow on the peaks until early summer.
.Corsica’s transportation infrastructure
Almost all modes of transportation are represented in Corsica: rail, road, sea and air. Numerous rivers are not navigable. The final stations of the Corsican railroad are Calvi, Ajaccio and Bastia. Near the coast the highways are characterized by high-quality pavement, in the center of the island – by patches or complete absence of asphalt. All settlements are connected by buses, but on weekends and holidays public transport does not go to small villages.
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What to try and buy in Corsica
The centuries-long isolation of the island has led to a unique food and drink scene. Some are of more ethnographic interest, like the sardines with cheese and heavily salted cod in Bastia, but the raw smoked spicy sausage, roasted wild boar, goat and sheep cheeses are a gourmet’s delight. All these can be ordered in restaurants or bought at the market. By evening the cost of delicacies drops significantly and you can buy them for nothing, if you do not hesitate to bargain.
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The pride of Corsica is chestnut dishes: roasts, chowder, bread, honey, beer. They used to be considered a product for the poor, but now priorities have changed and chestnuts are quite expensive. You can take back home with you honey of various varieties and a local variety of Italian liqueur limoncello from the south of the island. The municipality of Cilia used to sell mineral water before the First World War, now the production has been resumed and bottles of carbonated and natural drink can be bought all over the island. From souvenirs, in addition to images of Napoleon, it is worth paying attention to products made of ceramics.
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