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French ( Français) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island. Corsican, the native tongue and an Italo-Dalmatian language, is recognized as one of France's regional languages. Italian is also widely spoken. Corsica is the third-least populated region of France after Mayotte and French Guiana .
- 8,722 km² (3,368 sq mi)
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French is the official language of Corsica and is spoken virtually by all Corsicans.
Which country is Corsica part of?
Corsica is a territorial collectivity of France and an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 105 miles (170 km) from southern France and 56 miles (90 km) from northwestern Italy, and it is separated from Sardinia by the 7-mile (11-km) Strait of Bonifacio.
What is the capital of Corsica?
Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica. The original settlement of Ajax was founded by the Romans 2 miles (3 km) north of the present site, to which the town was moved by the Genoese in 1492.
How long have humans inhabited Corsica?
For the most part, the terrain of Corsica is mountainous. About two-thirds of it consists of an ancient crystalline massif that divides the island on a northwest-to-southeast axis. Corsica has a cluster of 20 peaks exceeding 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). Mount Cinto attains an elevation of 8,890 feet (2,710 metres). The mountain silhouettes are very dramatic, and their granite rocks display vivid colours. The mountains descend steeply in parallel ranges to the west, where the coast is cut into steep gulfs and marked by high cliffs and headlands. To the east the mountain massif falls in broken escarpments to extensive alluvial plains bordering a lagoon-indented coast. In the northeast a separate and less-spectacular mountain formation reaches heights not exceeding 5,790 feet (1,765 metres).
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Both the eastern and western watersheds are drained by seasonally torrential rivers that rise in the mountainous centre and cleave their way through impressive gorges in their upper reaches. The island’s principal rivers are the Golo, Tavignano, Liamone, Granove, Tarova, and Profiano. A Mediterranean climate prevails on the coasts, where the average temperature is 51 °F (10.5 °C) in winter and 60 °F (15.5 °C) during the rest of the year. It is cooler at higher elevations. The average summer temperature at the southern coastal city of Ajaccio is 70 °F (21 °C). Precipitation is abundant, averaging 35 inches (880 mm) a year, though higher elevations receive somewhat more.
Corsica’s vegetation is luxuriant. Much of the island is covered with a scrubby underbrush, or maquis, that is composed of aromatic shrubs, together with holm oak and cork oak in the south. The flowers of the maquis produce a fragrance that carries far out to sea and has earned for Corsica the name the “Scented Isle.” Chestnut forests occur at slightly higher elevations, while the Corsican, or laricio, pine (Pinus corsicanus) dominates the higher elevations. In all, forests cover about one-fifth of the island.
Bastia and Ajaccio, on the coast, are the largest towns and home to about half of the island’s population. In the early 21st century some four-fifths of Corsica’s population was urban. In northern Corsica the Balagne (once called the “Garden of Corsica”) is also densely populated. In contrast, sparsely populated rural villages, mostly situated at elevations between 650 and 2,600 feet (200 and 800 metres), have experienced much migration to the coast and to continental France. Despite a long history of emigration, there is overall growth in population, though many of the newcomers are retirees, which has led to a progressive aging of the population.
Remains of human occupation dating from at least the 3rd millennium bce are evident in the many dolmens, menhirs, and other megalithic monuments that still stand on the island. The recorded history of Corsica begins about 560 bce, when Greeks from Phocaea in Asia Minor founded the town of Alalia on the east coast. Carthaginian domination followed in the early 3rd century bce, until the whole of the island was conquered by the Romans in a series of campaigns from 259 to 163 bce. Together with Sardinia, Corsica formed a province of the Roman Empire, under which the island’s economy flourished. The Romans also implanted their language, which became the foundation of the present-day Corsican dialect.
A series of invasions and partial occupations by the Vandals, Lombards, and Arabs followed between 450 and 1050 ce, during which time the island’s towns were destroyed, their inhabitants driven inland, and the coastal agricultural lands abandoned. The Byzantine Empire’s nominal suzerainty over Corsica from the mid-6th century was followed by the titular rule of the papacy from the mid-8th century onward.
In 1077 the bishop of Pisa was entrusted by the papacy with the administration of Corsica, and over the next two centuries more than 300 churches were built in Corsica under the Pisans’ direction. Corsica then became a bone of contention between Pisa and Genoa (until 1284) and between Genoa and Aragon (from 1297 to 1434). Bitter struggles between the Genoese and Corsica’s native feudal aristocracy further decimated the population in the period 1434–53, after which Genoa was able to reassert its authority. A brief French occupation (1553–59) and a Corsican nationalist rebellion led by Sampiero Corso ended (1567) in renewed Genoese rule that lasted until 1729. Genoese rule, though by no means the worst in the island’s history, was notorious for its corrupt administration of justice, thereby encouraging Corsicans to resort to the private form of vengeance known as the vendetta.
A rebellion against Genoese rule in 1729 ushered in a period of turbulence and unrest that culminated in the establishment (1755) of a Corsican republic by the nationalist leader Pasquale Paoli. With Genoese control now confined to only a few coastal towns, Paoli organized the rest of Corsica as an independent democratic state and gave it a remarkably liberal constitution. During his 14 years of rule (until 1769), Paoli led the Corsicans in a great regenerative effort, repressing the vendetta, founding a university and printing press, and building a Corsican navy. In 1768, however, the despondent Genoese sold their rights on Corsica to France, and French troops subsequently invaded the island in overwhelming numbers.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Hike the GR20 (aka Fra li Monti) This is the mythical 200km-long (124 miles) hiking route, mostly along mountain ridges, from Calenzana in the north to Conca in the south, that most French people associate with Corsica (along with the beaches of course).
- Drive from Francardo to Porto. The narrow D84 road from Francardo to Porto is only 78.6km (48.8 miles) long but driving it non-stop would take two hours – "twisty" doesn’t even begin to describe it.
- Explore the island by train. If the thought of driving along Corsica’s vertiginous roads or hiking the GR20 doesn’t appeal, then the train is the answer.
- Find Bastia’s historic heart. Bastia, Corsica’s economic capital, tends to get overlooked by tourists. And that’s a shame because it's a town designed for its 52,000 inhabitants rather than tourists and has plenty to keep you entertained for at least a day.
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Nov 22, 2023 · Discover the best places to visit in Corsica, the beautiful island in the South of France. Find out about the famous cities, beaches, nature reserves, hiking trails, gastronomy and more in this comprehensive guide.
Corsica ( French: Corse, Corsican: Corsica) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of mainland France and west of Italy. It is a region of France with a special constitutional status. Corsica is one of the least-visited of the large Mediterranean islands, but has many attractions including historical sights, incredible landscapes and ...
