Leaving the coast we pass the blazing Desert of the Agriates. After this piece
of land covered with Mediterranean scented scrub, favourable to wild hiking, we
reach the coastal village of
Saint Florent. In a strategic position dominating a splendid bay,
Saint Florent also born as citadel. Founded in the XV century by the Genoese has
always been an ideal base for maritime trades. It is the capital of the Nebbio,
U Nebbiu in Corsican, with its famous vines.
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Corsica, Saint Florent
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Ile Rousse [the Etruscan Isularossa = red island] has always been
a fishing village until 1758 when Pasquale Paoli, the Father of the Homeland,
decided to put here his strategic harbour to dethrone the genoese Calvi, he had
gallows set in front of the first houses and declared: " I have put up
these forks to take there Calvi". The city owns its name to the pink
granite rocks lying among fine golden sand beaches that surround it. Facing the
sea a narrow strip of land leads to the Ile that gives the name to the
town.
Corsica, Ile Rousse |
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Dominating one of the most beautiful gulfs of the Mediterranean, the valley of
the
Balagne with its hills covered with olive, lemon, orange and fig
trees is called the "Garden of Corsica". A road climbing a mountain
landscape covered of Mediterranean shrub leads you to medieval fortified
villages like
Belgodere and Speloncato with Moorish features. At the
top of the hill that dominates Speloncato we will find the ruins of a fortress.
Driving further inland you reach the Tartagine Melaia forest in
an alpine setting.
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Corsica, Speloncato
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Calvi, corse citadel by excellence, impresses with the variety of
its beauty: an imposing genoese citadel, a beautiful marina and a beach that
stretches along its pinewood. Oppressed by any sort of pirates and foreign
rulers, in the XIII century the Calvi inhabitants decided to stay under the
Genovese protection. Since then for the faithfulness to the Ligurian republic
the city gained the title of
Civitas semper fidelis (town always faithful). Those who venture
into his citadel after the gate get right in the 16th century. In fact what we
see today is the result of Renaissance modification of the old medieval village:
the citadel protected by the imposing bastions of St George, the palace of the
governor, the church of St John were all made in the XVI century by the Genoese.
Many houses are in bad condition because of the time or perhaps because of
Nelson, who, in 1794, leaved Tolosa with its fleet to take this strategic
harbour to the revolutionary France and crushed down the town (and lost his eye)
in the battle.
From Calvi you can go back to Ile Rousse and Bastia with a lovely little train
that conveniently crosses the inland before reaching Bastia.
Moreover the nearby peninsula of Revellata is a real surprise with its
rich Mediterranean flora and secluded coves where once upon a time the rare monk
seal used to live.
Corsica, Calvi |
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But the scenic and natural treasures are not finished, driving a narrow and
maybe one the most dangerous coastal road, amid breathtaking scenery and
marvellous vegetation, you reach the Gulf of
Porto. From here one of the most rewarding coastal walks leads you
to the
Peninsula of Girolata and the Reserve of Scandola, places
that, thanks God, are reachable only on foot or by the sea.
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