Corsica

Corsica

The administrative region ofCorseis in red

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Coat of arms

Corsicais the fourth largestislandin theMediterranean Sea(afterSicily,Sardinia,andCyprus). It is west ofItaly,southeast ofFrance,and north of the island ofSardinia.

Corsica is one of theadministrative regions of France.

Corsica is famous for its tourist attractions, and as the birthplace ofNapoléon Bonaparte.

Geography

Topography

Corsica has 1,000 km of coastline and more than 200 beaches, and is very mountainous, withMonte Cintoas the highest peak at 2706m and 20 other peaks of more than 2000m.

Big towns: (Corsican names)

Ajaccio(Aiacciu)

Bastia(Bastia)

Corte(Corti)

Sartène(Sartè)

Other towns and villages:

Saint-Florent(San Fiurenzu)

Calvi(Calvi)

L'Île-Rousse(Isula Rossa)

Porto-Vecchio(Porti Vechju)

Bonifacio(Bunifaziu)

Aleria

The land and weather

Corsica is the most mountainous Mediterranean island. The low ground has aMediterranean climate.Summers are hot and dry. Winters are mild with moderate rainfall. The climate of the high ground is cold and is wetter. The naturalvegetationis Mediterranean forests,woodlands,andshrubs.The mountains are rich of forests ofoak,andpine,except for the high ground. Much of the coastal lowlands has been cleared foragriculture,which has reduced the mountain forests considerably. The island has a natural park (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse), which protects thousands of rare animal and plant species. The park was created in 1972 and includes theGolfe de Porto,theRéserve Naturelle de Scandola(aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site), and some of the highest mountains on the island. This park is protected.

History

• 725:Lombardssettle in Corsica
• 754:Carlo Magno,becomes king ofthe Lombards,and gives the lands of Corsica to thePope.
• 1077:The PopeGregorio VIIgives to an important priest ofPisa,the power for change or help things in Corsica.
• 1133:Orders of priest separate itself in two parts, one forGenoa,and one for Pisa
• 1195:A group of Genoa's soldier come inBonifacio
• 1268:A group of Genoa's soldier come inCalvi
• 1284:Corse becamepropertyofGenoa
• 1383:fondazione diBastiadaGenuva
• 1551:Samperu Corsuattacks the Turks forFrance
• 1559:Trattatu di Cateau-Cambrésis,Corsica is taken back by Genoa
• 1725:Pasquale Paoliborn
• 1730:in December, Corsica is Independent
• 1732:Peace of Corti
• 1735:firstconstitutionof Corsica
• 1736:Teodoru di Neuhoffbecame the King of Corsica
• 1737:Versaillesmeeting betweenFranceand Genoa
• 1755:14 July, Pasquale Paoli became "generale di a Nazione" by the court ofOrezza
• 1755:second constitution of Corsica written
• 1765:University of Corti is open.
• 1768:15 May, at the "meeting of Versailles", Genoa sells Corsica to the French. Corsica attacks France.
• 1768:9 October, soldiers of Pasquale Paoli, a freedom-fighter, won a battle against the French soldiers, during the battle of "U Borgu".
• 1769:9 May, Corsica loses in the battle of "Ponte Novu" against the French soldiers.
• 1769:13 June, Pasquale Paoli, leaves Corsica for Great Britain after France beats him in battle.
• 1769:15 August, Napoléon Bonaparte was born inAjaccio
• 1789:France says that "Corse is part of the French kingdom"
• 1790:Becomes the "dipartimentu" of Corsica, withBastiaas the capital.
• 1793:Corsica is separated in two parts, a part of "Liamone" and the part of "Golu"
• 1807:Pasquale Paoli dies
• 1821:Napoléon Bonaparte dies on the island ofSaint Helena
• 1840:travel ofProsper Mériméeon Corsica
• 1858:4 August,Frenchbecomes the official language of Corsica

Administration

Map of Corsica

The capital of the territorial collectivity of Corsica isAjaccio(Corsican:Aiacciu). The territorial collectivity is divided in twodépartements:Corse-du-SudandHaute-Corse.These twodépartementswere created onSeptember 15,1975by thedépartementof Corse.

Economy

Corsica's spectacular coastline is a major drive for tourism (here by the town ofPropriano).

Tourism is the biggest source of Corsican economy. The island has a pleasant climate, beautiful mountains and really beautiful coastlines that make it a popular destination among the French and other Western Europeans. However, the island has not had the same level of intensive development as other parts of the Mediterranean. Tourism is particularly concentrated in the area around Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio in the south of the island and Calvi in the northwest.

Politics

Corsica is currently governed almost as any otherrégionof France. There are lots of movements on the island the independence of Corsica and of Corsicans from France. The French government is against full independence. There is support on the island for to have more autonomy, butpollsshow that a large majority of Corsicans are opposed to full independence. Some groups who claim to support Corsican independence have carried out a violent campaign since the 1970s that includesbombingsand a few accidentalassassinations,usually againstpieds-noirsand other non-Corsicans, or buildings of the French government. Corsican independence groups attack when they are sure there won't be a danger for victims. However, not all groups for independence has "nice treaties", Sometimes independence groups are known to practiceextortionand otherintimidatorytactics, similar tomafiaactivity inSicilyand southernItaly.Non-Corsican homeowners may be threatened with the destruction of their home, or they are constrict to pay a "revolutionarian tax",for to help the groups in the attacks.

In2000,Prime MinisterLionel Jospinagreed to give more autonomy to Corsica but just for stopping the violence. The propose of autonomy for Corsica would have included greater protection for theCorsican language(Corsu), the island's traditional language (which is also considered to be a dialect ofItalian). However, the plans for increased autonomy were opposed by theGaullistopposition in theFrench National Assembly.In areferendumonJuly 6,2003,a narrow majority of Corsican voters opposed to the project from the government ofJean-Pierre RaffarinandInterior MinisterNicolas Sarkozythat would have suppressed the twodépartementsof the island and granted more autonomy to the territorial collectivity of Corsica.

"U Corsu", language of Corsica

In Corsica the official languages are Corsican and French. Corsu shares some similarities with Tuscan dialects (with their accents) or to Gallurese language, spoken in the nearby island ofSardinia.Corsu has two varietes, "Supranacciu", common in the northeast of theisland, (Bastia,Corte), and the "Suttanacciu" common in the south of the island, (Ajaccio,Sartene). The native Corsican language is closer to Italian than French, but both come from Latin. The ancient Romans spoke Latin.

For more information about the dialect, seeCorsican language.

Sport

In Corsica,footballis a very common sport. The island has in the first league ofFrance('Ligue 1'), 2 teams. TheAC Ajaccioand theSC Bastia.Another very famous sport in Corsica, is volleyball, with theGFCO Ajaccio Volley-Ball' team.

Other websites

• PhotoGlobe - CorsicaA collection of photos of Corsica together with GPS-based positions
• CNN coverage of rejection of autonomy proposals in 2003Archived2008-04-08 at theWayback Machine
• University of Corsica
• Corsica travel informationat Wikivoyage
• Example of Corsican villageArchived2013-03-06 at theWayback Machine