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Territorial Collectivity of Corsica Collectivité territoriale de Corse (French) Cullettività territuriale di Corsica (Corsican)
Collectivity
FlagCoat of arms
Location of Corsica within France
Country	France
Prefecture	Ajaccio
Departments	2 Haute-Corse Corse-du-Sud
Government
• President of Executive Council	Gilles Simeoni (Pè a Corsica)
• Prefect	Josiane Chevalier
Area
• Total	8,722 km (3,368 sq mi)
Population
• Total	330,455
• Density	38/km (98/sq mi)
• Languages	French Corsican Ligurian
Time zone	CEST
Website	www.isula.corsica

Corsica (/ˈkɔːrsɪkə/; Corsican: [ˈkorsiɡa], Italian: [ˈkɔrsika]; Template:Lang-fr, [kɔʁs] ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and politically one of the eighteen regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the French mainland, west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia, the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island.

The island is a territorial collectivity of France. The regional capital is Ajaccio. Although the region is divided into two administrative departments, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, their respective regional and departmental territorial collectivities were merged on 1 January 2018 to form the single territorial collectivity of Corsica. As such, Corsica enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than other French regional collectivities, for example the Corsican Assembly is permitted to exercise limited executive powers. Corsica’s second-largest town is Bastia, the prefecture city of Haute-Corse.

Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it became a self-proclaimed Italian-speaking Republic. In 1768, Genoa officially ceded it to Louis XV of France as part of a pledge for the debts it had incurred by enlisting France's military help in suppressing the Corsican revolt, and in 1769 France went on to subsequently annex it. Napoleon Bonaparte was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio, and his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is today a significant visitor attraction and museum. Because of Corsica's historical ties to the Italian peninsula, the island has retained many Italian cultural elements, and the native tongue is recognized as a regional language by the French government.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

The origin of the name Corsica is subject to much debate and remains a mystery. To the Ancient Greeks it was known as Kalliste, Corsis, Cyrnos, Cernealis, or Cirné. The last three variations derive from the most ancient Greek name of the island, "Σειρηνούσσαι" ("Seirinoussai", meaning of the Sirens) — the very same Sirens mentioned in Homer's Odyssey.

Corsica has been occupied continuously since the Mesolithic era. Its population was influential in the Mediterranean during its long prehistory.

After a brief occupation by the Carthaginians, colonization by the ancient Greeks, and an only slightly longer occupation by the Etruscans, it was incorporated by the Roman Republic at the end of the First Punic War and, with Sardinia, in 238 BC became a province of the Roman Republic. The Romans, who built a colony in Aléria, considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman world. The island produced sheep, honey, resin and wax, and exported many slaves, not well considered because of their fierce and rebellious character. Moreover, it was known for its cheap wines, exported to Rome, and was used as a place of relegation, one of the most famous exiles being the Roman philosopher Seneca. Administratively, the island was divided into pagi, which in the Middle Ages became the pievi, the basic administrative units of the island until 1768. During the diffusion of Christianity, which arrived quite early from Rome and the Tuscan harbors, Corsica was home to many martyrs and saints: among them, the most important are Saint Devota and Saint Julia, both patrons of the island. Corsica was integrated into Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305).

Middle Ages and early-modern era

In the 5th century, the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, and the island was invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. Briefly recovered by the Byzantines, it soon became part of the Kingdom of the Lombards. This made it a dependency of the March of Tuscany, which used it as an outpost against the Saracens. Pepin the Short, king of the Franks and Charlemagne's father, expelled the Lombards and nominally granted Corsica to Pope Stephen II. In the first quarter of the 11th century, Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion. After that, the island came under the influence of the republic of Pisa. To this period belong the many polychrome churches which adorn the island, and Corsica also experienced a massive immigration from Tuscany, which gave to the island its present toponymy and rendered the language spoken in the northern two-thirds of the island very close to the Tuscan dialect. Due to that, then began also the traditional division of Corsica in two parts, along the main chain of mountains roughly going from Calvi to Porto-Vecchio: the eastern Banda di dentro, or Cismonte, more populated, evolved and open to the commerce with Italy, and the western Banda di fuori, or Pomonte, almost deserted, wild and remote.

The crushing defeat experienced by Pisa in 1284 in the Battle of Meloria against Genoa had among its consequences the end of the Pisan rule and the beginning of the Genoese influence in Corsica: this was contested initially by the King of Aragon, who in 1296 had received from the Pope the investiture over Sardinia and Corsica. A popular revolution against this and the feudal lords, led by Sambucuccio d'Alando, got the aid of Genoa. After that, the Cismonte was ruled as a league of comuni and churches, after the Italian experience. The following 150 years were a period of conflict, when the Genoese rule was contested by Aragon, the local lords, the comuni and the Pope: finally, in 1450 Genoa ceded the administration of the island to its main bank, the Bank of Saint George, which brought peace.

In the 16th century, the island entered into the fight between Spain and France for the supremacy in Italy. In 1553, a Franco-Ottoman fleet occupied Corsica, but the reaction of Spain and Genoa, led by Andrea Doria, reestablished the Genoese supremacy on the island, confirmed by the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis. The unlucky protagonist of this episode was Sampiero di Bastelica, who would later come to be considered a hero of the island. Their power reinstated, the Genoese did not allow the Corsican nobility to share in the government of the island, and oppressed the inhabitants with a heavy tax burden. On the other hand, they introduced the chestnut tree on a large scale, improving the diet of the population, and built a chain of towers along the coast to defend Corsica from the attacks of the Barbary pirates from North Africa. The period of peace lasted until 1729, when the refusal to pay taxes by a peasant sparked the general insurrection of the island against Genoa.

Rise and annexation of the Corsican Republic

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In 1729 the Corsican Revolution for independence from Genoa began, first led by Luiggi Giafferi and Giacinto Paoli, and later by Paoli's son, Pasquale Paoli. After 26 years of struggle against the Republic of Genoa (plus an ephemeral attempt to proclaim in 1736 an independent Kingdom of Corsica under the German adventurer Theodor von Neuhoff), the independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed in 1755 under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli and remained sovereign until 1769, when the island was conquered by France. The first Corsican Constitution was written in Italian (the language of culture in Corsica until the middle of the 19th century) by Paoli.

The Corsican Republic was unable to eject the Genoese from the major coastal fortresses (Calvi and Bonifacio). After the Corsican conquest of Capraia, a small island of the Tuscan Archipelago, in 1767, the Republic of Genoa, exhausted by forty years of fighting, decided to sell the island to France which, after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, was trying to reinforce its position in the Mediterranean. In 1768, with the Treaty of Versailles, the Genoese republic ceded all its rights on the island. After an initial successful resistance culminating with the victory at Borgo, the Corsican republic was crushed by a large French army led by the Count of Vaux at the Battle of Ponte Novu. This marked the end of Corsican sovereignty. Despite triggering the Corsican Crisis in Britain, whose government gave secret aid, no foreign military support came for the Corsicans. However, nationalist feelings still ran high. Despite the conquest, Corsica was not incorporated into the French state until 1789.

Following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Pasquale Paoli was able to return to Corsica from exile in Britain. In 1794, he invited British forces under Lord Hood to intervene to free Corsica from French rule. Anglo-Corsican forces drove the French from the island and established an Anglo-Corsican Kingdom. Following Spain's entry into the war, the British decided to withdraw from Corsica in 1796. Corsica returned to French rule.

19th century

Despite being the birthplace of the Emperor, who had supported Paoli in his youth, the island was neglected by Napoleon's government. In 1814, near the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Corsica was briefly occupied again by British troops. The Treaty of Bastia gave the British crown sovereignty over the island, but it was later repudiated by Lord Castlereagh who insisted that the island should be returned to a restored French monarchy.

After the restoration, the island was further neglected by the French state. Despite the presence of a middle class in Bastia and Ajaccio, Corsica remained an otherwise primitive place, whose economy consisted mainly of a subsistence agriculture, and whose population constituted a pastoral society, dominated by clans and the rules of vendetta. The code of vendetta required Corsicans to seek deadly revenge for offences against their family's honor. Between 1821 and 1852, no fewer than 4,300 murders were perpetrated in Corsica. During the first half of the century, the people of Corsica were still immersed in the Italian cultural world: the bourgeoisie sent children to Pisa to study, official acts were enacted in Italian and most books were printed in Italian. Moreover, many islanders sympathised with the national struggle which was taking place in nearby Italy in those years: several political refugees from the peninsula, like Niccolò Tommaseo, spent years in the island, while some Corsicans, like Count Leonetto Cipriani, took active part in the fights for Italian independence.

Despite all that, during those years the Corsicans began to feel a stronger and stronger attachment to France. The reasons for that are manifold: the knowledge of the French language, which thanks to the mandatory primary school started to penetrate among the local youth, the high prestige of French culture, the awareness of being part of a big, powerful state, the possibility of well-paid jobs as civil servants, both in the island, in the mainland and in the colonies, the prospect of serving the French army during the wars for the conquest of the colonial empire, the introduction of steamboats, which reduced the travel time between mainland France from the island drastically, and — last but not least — Napoleon himself, whose existence alone constituted an indissoluble link between France and Corsica. Thanks to all these factors by around 1870 Corsica had landed in the French cultural world.

From the 19th century into the mid-20th century, Corsicans also grew closer to the French nation through participation in the French Empire. Compared to much of Metropolitan France, Corsica was poor and many Corsicans emigrated. While Corsicans emigrated globally, especially to many South American countries, many chose to move within the French Empire which acted as a conduit for emigration and eventual return, as many young Corsican men could find better job opportunities in the far corners of the Empire where many other French hesitated to go. In many parts of the Empire, Corsicans were strongly represented, such as in Saigon where in 1926 12% of European were from Corsica. Across the French Empire, many Corsicans retained a sense of community by establishing organizations where they would meet regularly, keep one another informed of developments in Corsica, and come to one anothers’ aid in times of need.

Modern Corsica

Corsica paid a high price for the French victory in the First World War: agriculture was disrupted by the years-long absence of almost all of the young workers, and the percentage of dead or wounded Corsicans in the conflict was double that of those from metropolitan France. Moreover, the protectionist policies of the French government, started in the 1880s and never stopped, had ruined the Corsican export of wine and olive oil, and forced many young Corsicans to emigrate to mainland France or to the Americas. As reaction to these conditions, a nationalist movement was born in the 1920s around the newspaper A Muvra, having as its objective the autonomy of the island from France. In the 1930s, many exponents of this movement became irredentist, seeing annexation of the island to fascist Italy as the only solution to its problems. Under Benito Mussolini annexation of Corsica had become one of the main goals of Italy's unification policy.

After the collapse of France to the German Wehrmacht in 1940, Corsica came under the rule of the Vichy French regime, which was collaborating with Nazi Germany. In November 1942 the island was occupied by Italian and German forces following the Anglo-American landings in North Africa. After the Italian armistice in September 1943, Italian and Free French Forces pushed the Germans out of the island, making Corsica the first French Department to be freed. Subsequently, the US military established 17 airfields, nicknamed "USS Corsica", which served as bases for attacks on targets in German-occupied Italy.

During the May 1958 crisis, the French military command in Algeria mutinied against the French Fourth Republic and on 24 May occupied the island in an action called Opération Corse that led to the collapse of the government; the second phase of the coup attempt, occupying Paris, was cancelled following the establishment of a transitional government under Charles de Gaulle.

Between the late fifties and the seventies, proposals to conduct underground nuclear tests in the mines of Argentella, the immigration of 18,000 former settlers from Algeria ("Pieds-Noirs") in the eastern plains, and continuing chemical pollution (Fanghi Rossi) from mainland Italy increased tensions between the indigenous inhabitants and the French government. Tensions escalated until an armed police assault on a pieds-noirs-owned wine cellar in Aleria, occupied by Corsican nationalists on 23 August 1975. This marked the beginning of the armed nationalist struggle against the French government. Ever since, Corsican nationalism has been a feature of the island's politics, with calls for greater autonomy and protection for Corsican culture and the Corsican language. Periodic flare-ups of raids and killings culminated in the assassination of Prefect Claude Érignac in 1998.

In 2013, Corsica hosted the first three stages of the 100th Tour de France, which passed through the island for the first time in the event's 110-year history.

Geography

Corsica was formed about 250 million years ago with the uplift of a granite backbone on the western side. About 50 million years ago sedimentary rock was pressed against this granite, forming the schists of the eastern side. It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, a "mountain in the sea".

It is also the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus.

It is 183 km (114 mi) long at longest, 83 km (52 mi) wide at widest, has 1,000 km (620 mi) of coastline, more than 200 beaches, and is very mountainous, with Monte Cinto as the highest peak at 2,706 m (8,878 ft) and around 120 other summits of more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Mountains comprise two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain. Forests make up 20% of the island.

About 3,500 km (1,400 sq mi) of the total surface area of 8,680 km (3,350 sq mi) is dedicated to nature reserves (Parc naturel régional de Corse), mainly in the interior. Corsica contains the GR20, one of Europe's most notable hiking trails.

The island is 90 km (56 mi) from Tuscany in Italy and 170 km (110 mi) from the Côte d'Azur in France. It is separated from Sardinia to the south by the Strait of Bonifacio, which is a minimum of 11 km (6.8 mi) wide.

Major communities

In 2005 the population of Corsica was settled in approximately 360 communities.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, coastal regions are characterized by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Further inland, a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) is more common. At the highest elevation locations, small areas with a subarctic climate (Dsc, Dfc) and the rare cold-summer Mediterranean climate (Csc) can be found.

The station of Sari-Solenzara records the highest year-round temperatures of Metropolitan France with an annual average of 16.41 °C over the 1981–2010 period. Sunshine hours are not available for same period but this was 2715 h for 2008–2016.

Ecology

Corsica

Native name: CorsicaNickname: L’Île de Beauté The Isle of Beauty
Topography of Corsica
CorsicaCorsica (France)
Geography
Location	Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates	42°N 9°E / 42°N 9°E / 42; 9
Area	8,680 km (3,350 sq mi)
Length	184 km (114.3 mi)
Width	83 km (51.6 mi)
Coastline	1,000 km (600 mi)
Highest elevation	2,706 m (8878 ft)
Highest point	Monte Cinto
Administration
France
Région	Corsica
Largest settlement	Ajaccio (pop. 63,723)
Demographics
Population	322,120 (January 2013)
Pop. density	37/km (96/sq mi)

Zones by altitude

The island is divided into three major ecological zones by altitude. Below 600 metres (2,000 ft) is the coastal zone, which features a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The natural vegetation is Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrubs. The coastal lowlands are part of the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion, in which forests and woodlands of evergreen sclerophyll oaks predominate, chiefly holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cork oak (Quercus suber). Much of the coastal lowlands have been cleared for agriculture, grazing and logging, which have reduced the forests considerably.

There is considerable birdlife in Corsica. One famous example is the bearded vulture. In some cases Corsica is a delimited part of the species range. For example, the subspecies of hooded crow, Corvus cornix ssp cornix occurs in Corsica, but no further south.

From 600 to 1,800 m (2,000 to 5,900 ft) is a temperate montane zone. The mountains are cooler and wetter, and home to the Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion, which supports diverse forests of oak, pine, and broadleaf deciduous trees, with vegetation more typical of northern Europe. The population lives predominantly below 900 m (3,000 ft), with only shepherds and hikers at 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft).

From 1,800 to 2,700 m (5,900 to 8,900 ft) is a high alpine zone. Vegetation is sparse. This zone is uninhabited.

Zones by region

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Parc Naturel Régional de Corse

The island has a natural park (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse, Parcu di Corsica), which protects rare animal and plant species. The Park was created in 1972 and includes the Golfe de Porto, the Scandola Nature Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and some of the highest mountains on the island. Scandola cannot be reached on foot, but people can gain access by boat from the village of Galéria and Porto (Ota). Two endangered subspecies of hoofed mammals, the mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) and Corsican red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) inhabit the park. The Corsican red deer was re-introduced after it was extinct due to over hunting. This Corsican subspecies was the same that survived on Sardinia, so it is endemic. There are other species endemic to Corsica especially in the upper mountain ranges, i.e. Corsican nuthatch, Corsican fire salamander and Corsican brook salamander and many plant subspecies.

Extinct animals

Corsica, like all the other Mediterranean islands, was home to indigenous animals of the Pleistocene, some endemic to it and some coming to it and Sardinia (as Sardinia was joined to Corsica for much of the Pleistocene). After the proliferation of humans in the Mesolithic, these began to disappear, partly from extinction of the species, and partly from eradication only in Corsica. However, it is now known that many species managed to survive the Mesolithic, and many were still present well into recorded history.

The globally extinct species are the Sardinian dhole, Megaloceros cazioti, Corsican giant shrew, Tyrrhenian mole, Sardinian pika, Corsican-Sardinian vole, Corsican-Sardinian wood mouse, Bubo insularis and Athene angelis. Birds were especially hard-hit. Some that were eradicated from the vicinity are Haliaeetus albicilla and Aquila heliaca.

Demographics

Corsica has a population of 322,120 inhabitants (January 2013 estimate).

At the 2011 census, 56.3% of the inhabitants of Corsica were natives of Corsica, 28.6% were natives of Continental France, 0.3% were natives of Overseas France, and 14.8% were natives of foreign countries.

The majority of the foreign immigrants in Corsica come from the Maghreb (particularly Moroccans, who made up 33.5% of all immigrants in Corsica at the 2011 census), and from Southern Europe (particularly Portuguese, 22.7% of immigrants on the island), and Italians (13.7%).

Immigration

Culture

Languages

French (Français) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 9 May 1859, when it was replaced by French. Corsican (Corsu), a minority language that is closely related to medieval Tuscan (Toscano), has a better prospect of survival than most other French regional languages: Corsican is the second most widely spoken language, after French and ahead of standard Italian. However, since the annexation of the island by France in the 18th century, Corsican has been under heavy pressure from French, and today it is estimated that only 10% of Corsica's population speak the language natively, with only 50% having some sort of proficiency in it.

The language is divided into two main varieties: Cismuntanu and Ultramuntanu, spoken respectively northeast and southwest of the Girolata - Porto Vecchio line. This division was due to the massive immigration from Tuscany which took place in Corsica during the lower Middle Ages: as a result, the Cismuntanu became very similar to the Tuscan dialects, being part of the Italo-Dalmatian language group, while the Ultramuntanu could keep its original characteristics which make it much more similar to a Southern Romance language like Sardinian (Sardu). Therefore, due to the differences between the main dialectal varieties, many linguists classify Corsican as an Italo-Dalmatian language, while others consider it a Southern Romance one.

Fewer and fewer people speak a Ligurian dialect, known as bunifazzinu, in what has long been a language island, Bonifacio, and in Ajaccio, the aghjaccinu dialect. In Cargèse, a village established by Greek immigrants in the 17th century, Greek (Ελληνικά) was the traditional language: whereas it has long disappeared from spoken conversation, ancient Greek is still the liturgical language and the village has many Greek Orthodox parishes.

Cuisine

From the mountains to the plains and sea, many ingredients play a role. Game such as wild boar (Cingale, Singhjari) is popular. There also is seafood and river fish such as trout. Delicacies such as figatellu (also named as ficateddu), made with liver, coppa, ham (prizuttu), lonzu are made from Corsican pork (porcu nustrale). Characteristic among the cheeses is brocciu (similar to ricotta), which is used as a fresh ingredient in many dishes, from first courses (sturzapreti) to cakes (fiadone). Other cheeses, like casgiu merzu ("rotten cheese", the Corsican counterpart of the Sardinian casu marzu), casgiu veghju are made from goat or sheep milk. Chestnuts are the main ingredient in the making of pulenta castagnina and cakes (falculelle). A variety of alcohol also exists ranging from aquavita (brandy), red and white Corsican wines (Vinu Corsu), muscat wine (plain or sparkling), and the famous "Cap Corse" apéritif produced by Mattei. The herbs which are part of Maquis (Template:Lang-co) and the chestnuts and oak nuts of the Corsican forests are eaten by local animals, resulting in a noticeable flavour in the food there.

Art

Corsica has produced a number of known artists:

• Alizée (singer/dancer)
• Martha Angelici (opera singer)
• A Filetta (polyphonic chant group)
• Canta U Populu Corsu (band)
• Laetitia Casta (model/actress)
• Baptiste Giabiconi (model/singer)
• Julien de Casabianca (cineast)
• Jérôme Ferrari (writer)
• Patrick Fiori (singer)
• Petru Guelfucci (singer)
• José Luccioni (opera singer)
• Gaston Micheletti (opera singer)
• I Muvrini (band)
• Jenifer (singer)
• François Lanzi (painter)
• Ange Leccia (visual art)
• Henri Padovani (musician; original guitarist for The Police)
• Thierry de Peretti (cineast)
• Marie-Claude Pietragalla (dancer)
• Jean-Paul Poletti (singer)
• Robin Renucci (comedian)
• Tino Rossi (singer)
• César Vezzani (opera singer)

Sport

Since 2017, no Corsican football club has played in Ligue 1 and are currently littered through the second, third, fourth and fifth tiers of French football. AC Ajaccio are the highest placed team, competing in Ligue 2. SC Bastia and FC Bastia-Borgo currently compete in the Championnat National, Gazélec Ajaccio competes in the Championnat National 2 and finally ÉF Bastia play in Regional 1. Tour de Corse is a rally held since 1956, which was a round of the World Rally Championship from 1973 to 2008 and later the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and European Rally Championship. The Tour de Corse returned as a World Rally Championship round in 2015.

Administration

Before 1975, Corsica was a départment of the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. In 1975 two new départements, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, were created by splitting the hitherto united departement of Corsica.

On 2 March 1982, a law was passed that gave Corsica the status of territorial collectivity (collectivité territoriale), abolishing the Corsican Regional Council. Unlike the regional councils, the Corsican Assembly has executive powers over the island.

In 1992, three institutions were formed in the territorial collectivity of Corsica:

• The Executive Council of Corsica, which exercises the type of executive functions held in other French regions by the presidents of the Regional Councils. It ensures the stability and consistency needed to manage the affairs of the territory
• The Corsican Assembly, a deliberative, unicameral legislative body with greater powers than the regional councils on the mainland
• The Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Corsica, an advisory body

A local referendum held in 2003, aimed at abolishing the two départements to leave a territorial collectivity with extended powers, was voted down by a narrow margin. However, the issue of Corsican autonomy and greater powers for the Corsican Assembly continues to hold sway over Corsican politics.

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 9.6 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 0.4% of French economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 25,400 euros or 84% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 103% of the EU average.

Tourism plays a big part in the Corsican economy. The island's climate, mountains, and coastlines make it popular among tourists. The island has not had the same level of intensive development as other parts of the Mediterranean and is thus mainly unspoiled. Tourism is particularly concentrated in the area around Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio in the south of the island and Calvi in the northwest.

In 1584 the Genoese governor ordered all farmers and landowners to plant four trees yearly; a chestnut, olive, fig, and mulberry tree. Many communities owe their origin and former richness to the ensuing chestnut woods. Chestnut bread keeps fresh for as long as two weeks. Corsica produces gourmet cheese, wine, sausages, and honey for sale in mainland France and for export. Corsican honey, of which there are six official varieties, is certified as to its origin (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) by the French National Institute of Origin and Quality (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine – INAO).

Corsica's main exports are granite and marble, tannic acid, cork, cheese, wine, citrus fruit, olive oil and cigarettes.

Transport

Airports

Corsica has four international airports:

• Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport
• Bastia – Poretta Airport
• Calvi – Sainte-Catherine Airport
• Figari–Sud Corse Airport (near Bonifacio and Porto Vecchio in the south)

All airports are served by regional French airline Air Corsica, as well as Air France which mainly offers connections to Paris-Orly. Budget carriers such as EasyJet and Ryanair offer seasonal connections to different cities in Europe.

Railway

The island has 232 kilometres (144 miles) of metre gauge railway. The main line runs between Bastia and Ajaccio and there is a branch line from Ponte Leccia to Calvi. Chemins de Fer de la Corse (CFC) is the name of the regional rail network serving the French island of Corsica. For a list of stations, see Railway stations in Corsica.

There was also the Eastern Coast Railway [fr] along the Thyrrenian seacoast; that line was heavily damaged during World War II, and subsequently closed for good.

Seaports

Corsica is well connected to the European mainland (Italy and France) by various car ferry lines. The island's busiest seaport is Bastia, which saw more than 2.5 million passengers in 2012. The second busiest seaport is Ajaccio, followed by L'Île-Rousse and Calvi. Propriano and Porto Vecchio in the south also have smaller ferry docks and are seasonally served from France (Marseille), while Bonifacio's harbour is only frequented by smaller car ferries from the neighbouring island of Sardinia.

The ferry companies serving Corsica are Corsica Ferries - Sardinia Ferries (from Savona, Livorno and Piombino in Italy; Toulon and Nice in France), SNCM (from Marseille, Toulon and Nice in France), CMN - La Méridionale (from Marseille in France) and Moby Lines (from Livorno and Genoa in Italy).

Politics

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There are several groups and two nationalist parties (the autonomist Femu a Corsica and the separatist Corsica Libera) active on the island calling for some degree of Corsican autonomy from France or even full independence. Generally speaking, regionalist proposals focus on the promotion of the Corsican language, more power for local governments, and some exemptions from national taxes in addition to those already applying to Corsica.

The French government is opposed to full independence but has at times shown support for some level of autonomy. There is support on the island for proposals for greater autonomy, but polls show that a large majority of Corsicans are opposed to full independence.

In 1972, the Italian company Montedison dumped toxic waste off the Corsican coast, creating what looked like red mud in waters around the island with the poisoning of the sea, the most visible effects being cetaceans found dead on the shores. At that time the Corsican people felt that the French government did not support them. To stop the poisoning, one ship carrying toxic waste from Italy was bombed.

Nationalist organisations started to seek money, using tactics similar to those of the Mafia, to fund violence. Some groups that claim to support Corsican independence, such as the National Liberation Front of Corsica, have carried out a violent campaign since the 1970s that includes bombings and assassinations, usually targeting buildings and officials representing the French government or Corsicans themselves for political reasons. A war between two rival independence groups led to several deaths in the 1990s. The peaceful occupation of a pied-noir vineyard in Aléria in 1975 marked a turning point when the French government responded with overwhelming force, generating sympathy for the independence groups among the Corsican population.

In 2000, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin agreed to grant increased autonomy to Corsica. The proposed autonomy for Corsica would have included greater protection for the Corsican language (Corsu), the island's traditional language, whose practice and teaching, like other regional or minority languages in France, had been discouraged in the past. According to the UNESCO classification, the Corsican language is currently in danger of becoming extinct. However, plans for increased autonomy were opposed by the Gaullist opposition in the French National Assembly, who feared that they would lead to calls for autonomy from other régions (such as Brittany, Alsace, or Provence), eventually threatening France's unity as a country.

In a referendum on 6 July 2003, a narrow majority of Corsican voters opposed a proposal by the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin and then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that would have suppressed the two départements of the island and granted greater autonomy to the territorial collectivity of Corsica.

On 13 December 2015, the regionalist coalition Pè a Corsica (Template:Lang-en), supported by both Femu a Corsica and Corsica Libera and led by Gilles Siméoni, won the territorial elections with a percentage of 36.9%.

On 17 December 2015, Jean Guy Talamoni was elected President of the Assembly of Corsica and Gilles Simeoni was elected Executive President of the Council of the Region. In addition, legislation granting Corsica a greater degree of autonomy was passed.

See also

• Corsican nationalism
• Corsican language
• Italian irredentism in Corsica
• Corsican immigration (Puerto Rico, Venezuela)
• Corsican Workers' Trade Union
• Corsican mafia
• "Dio vi salvi Regina", the unofficial Corsican anthem
• GR 20
• List of châteaux in Corsica
• University of Corsica Pascal Paoli

Notes

1. ^ Bertarelli (1929), p.41
2. Pais, Ettore (1999). Storia della Sardegna e della Corsica durante il periodo romano (in Italian). Nuoro: Ilisso. pp. 76–77. ISBN 88-85098-92-4.
3. ^ Bertarelli (1929), p.42
4. ^ Bertarelli (1929), p.43
5. ^ Bertarelli (1929), p.45
6. Bertarelli (1929), p.46
7. "Ancient Corsica beckons with deserted beaches and historic structures". The Baltimore Sun. 1 March 1992
8. Bertarelli (1929), p.48
9. Howard, John E., Letters and Documents of Napoleon: Vol. 1 Rise to Power. New York: Oxford University Press, 1961.
10. Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1855). Wanderings in Corsica: its history and its heroes. Thomas Constable and Company. p. 196.
11. ^ Ravis-Giordani (1991), p. 112–14
12. Echo de la Corse (May–June 1929). "Inepuissable pepiniere de soldats et de coloniaux". Saigon-Cyrnos: Bulletin de l'Amicale Corse de la Cochinchine et du Cambodge. 43: 13–14.
13. Guelfi, A.D. (April 1931). "Les Corses hors de Corse partout presents toujours unis". Saigon-Cyrnos: Bulletin de l'Amicale Corse de la Cochinchine et du Cambodge. 58: 13–14.
14. Azéma, Jean-Pierre; Wieviorka, Olivier (1997). Vichy, 1940-44 (in French). Paris: Perrin. pp. 231–33.
15. Paletti, C. (1999). Un'operazione riuscita: Corsica settembre 1943 (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico Stato maggiore Esercito.
16. "Jacques Massu obituary". Timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
17. Mouillot, F. (2008). "Corsica". Mediterranean Island Landscapes: Natural and Cultural Approaches. Springer. pp. 223–225.
18. ^ Price, Gillian (9 September 2010). Walking on Corsica: Long-Distance and Short Walks. Cicerone Press Limited. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-85284-387-8.
19. Keyser, William (2005). "Corsican Villages and Towns" (PDF). Corsica Isula. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
20. "Climatological Information for Sari-Solenzara, France" – Météo France
21. "Climatological Information for Ajaccio, France" Archived 25 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine – Hong Kong Observatory
22. Gregory, Desmond (1985). The ungovernable rock: a history of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom and its role in Britain's Mediterranean strategy during the Revolutionary War, 1793–1797. London: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-8386-3225-4.
23. Hogan, C. Michael (2009). N. Stromberg (ed.). Hooded Crow: Corvus cornix. Archived from the original on 20 March 2010 – via GlobalTwitcher.com.
24. MacPhee, R.D.E.; Hans-Dieter Sues (1999). Extinctions in Near Time: Causes, Contexts, and Consequences. Springer. p. 179. ISBN 0-306-46092-0.
25. "Estimation de population au 1er janvier, par région, sexe et grande classe d'âge – Année 2013" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
26. ^ "Fichier Données harmonisées des recensements de la population de 1968 à 2011" (in French). INSEE. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
27. ^ "IMG1B – Les immigrés par sexe, âge et pays de naissance" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
28. "D_FD_IMG2 – Base France par départements – Lieux de naissance à l'étranger selon la nationalité" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
29. Abalain, Hervé, (2007) Le français et les langues historiques de la France, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, p.113
30. "Euromosaic-Index1". uoc.edu. Open University of Catalonia. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
31. Bertoni, Giulio (1916). Italia dialettale (in Italian). Milano: Hoepli.
32. Devoto, Giacomo (1974). Il linguaggio d'Italia (in Italian). Milano: Rizzoli.
33. Harris, Martin; Vincent, Nigel (1997). Romance Languages. London: Routlegde. ISBN 0-415-16417-6.
34. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Subfamily: Italo-Dalmatian". Glottolog 2.2.
35. Enciclopedia Treccani - Dialetti liguri
36. Nicholas, Nick. "How Greek were the Greeks of Corsica?" (PDF). tlg.uci.edu. Thesaurus Linguae Graeceae. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2012.
37. "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
38. "The Chestnut Tree". terracorsa.info.
39. Ward, Artemas (1911). "Bread". The Grocer's Encyclopedia – Encyclopedia of Foods and Beverages. New York. p. 76. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
40. "The Region of Corsica". french-at-a-touch.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
41. "EU transport in figures - Statistical Pocketbook 2012" (PDF), European Commission
42. Corsica Ferries - Official Website
43. SNCM - Official Website, archived from the original on 26 September 2010, retrieved 29 July 2020
44. Compagnie méridionale de navigation (CMN) - Official Website
45. Moby Lines - Official Website
46. "89 % des corses opposés à l'indépendance de l'île" [89% Corsicans are opposed to Corsican independence], Nouvel Observateur (in French)
47. Enquête: la Corse vue par les Corses - Rue89, Le nouvel observateur
48. Blackwood, Robert J. (2008). The State, the Activists and the Islanders: Language Policy on Corsica. Springer. p. 164. ISBN 978-1402083846.
49. "France Moves to Crush Corsican Separatists". The New York Times. 15 January 1997. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
50. "Corsican". UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. UNESCO. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
51. "French Cabinet Split Over Corsican Autonomy". The New York Times. 30 August 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
52. "A worrying result". The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
53. "Victoire historique des nationalistes en Corse". abp.bzh.
54. "Corsican nationalists win historic victory in French elections". The Guardian. 14 December 2015 – via theguardian.com.
55. "Discours de Gilles Simeoni, président du conseil exécutif de Corse - France 3 Corse ViaStella". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr.

Bibliography

• Bertarelli, Luigi Vittorio (1929). Corsica. Guida d'Italia (in Italian). Rome: CTI.
• Loughlin, John. 1989. "Regionalism and Ethnic Nationalism in France: A Case-study of Corsica". Thesis. San Domenico, Italy: European University Institute.
• Loughlin, John, and Claude Olivesi (eds.). 1999. Autonomies insulaires: vers une politique de différence pour la Corse. Ajaccio: Editions Albiana. ISBN 2-905124-47-4
• Ravis-Giordani, Georges. 1991. Le Guide de la Corse. Besançon: La Manufacture. ISBN 2-7377-0262-3
• Saul, John Ralston. 1992. Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West. New York: Free Press; Maxwell Macmillan International. ISBN 0-02-927725-6

External links

• Official website
• Corsica: a mountain in the sea – Official French website (in English)
• Template:Curlie
• "Corsica" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 199–204.
• Costa, L. J.; Cécile Costa (2005). "Préhistoire de la Corse" (in French). Kyrnos Publications pour l'archéologie. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
• "TerraCorsa, I Muvrini and much more Corsican music". TerraCorsa. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
• Dumas, Alexandre (2003) . The Corsican Brothers. Arthur's Classical Novels. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
• "National Geographic Magazine: Corsica Map". National Geographic Society. 2003. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
• "Corsica rejects autonomy offer by Paris". CNN. 6 July 2003. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
• Keyser, Will. "Corsica from the inside!". Corsica Isula. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
• jabro. "Getting around in Corsica by bicycle". jabro.net. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
• Guiderdoni, jf. "A different visit of Corsica". corsica_experience. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
• Ferries to Corsica Detailed technical specifications of the various ferry vessels, history, deckplans. (in Italian)
• Audio recording of the traditional Corsican folktale 'Goldenhair' (in English)
• 3-minute video "The Workout the World Forgot," filmed in Corsica, 2008

v t e Departments of France
Metropolitan	01 Ain 02 Aisne 03 Allier 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 05 Hautes-Alpes 06 Alpes-Maritimes 07 Ardèche 08 Ardennes 09 Ariège 10 Aube 11 Aude 12 Aveyron 13 Bouches-du-Rhône 14 Calvados 15 Cantal 16 Charente 17 Charente-Maritime 18 Cher 19 Corrèze 2A Corse-du-Sud 2B Haute-Corse 21 Côte-d'Or 22 Côtes-d'Armor 23 Creuse 24 Dordogne 25 Doubs 26 Drôme 27 Eure 28 Eure-et-Loir 29 Finistère 30 Gard 31 Haute-Garonne 32 Gers 33 Gironde 34 Hérault 35 Ille-et-Vilaine 36 Indre 37 Indre-et-Loire 38 Isère 39 Jura 40 Landes 41 Loir-et-Cher 42 Loire 43 Haute-Loire 44 Loire-Atlantique 45 Loiret 46 Lot 47 Lot-et-Garonne 48 Lozère 49 Maine-et-Loire 50 Manche 51 Marne 52 Haute-Marne 53 Mayenne 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle 55 Meuse 56 Morbihan 57 Moselle 58 Nièvre 59 Nord 60 Oise 61 Orne 62 Pas-de-Calais 63 Puy-de-Dôme 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques 65 Hautes-Pyrénées 66 Pyrénées-Orientales 67 Bas-Rhin 68 Haut-Rhin 69D Rhône 70 Haute-Saône 71 Saône-et-Loire 72 Sarthe 73 Savoie 74 Haute-Savoie 76 Seine-Maritime 77 Seine-et-Marne 78 Yvelines 79 Deux-Sèvres 80 Somme 81 Tarn 82 Tarn-et-Garonne 83 Var 84 Vaucluse 85 Vendée 86 Vienne 87 Haute-Vienne 88 Vosges 89 Yonne 90 Territoire de Belfort 91 Essonne 92 Hauts-de-Seine 93 Seine-Saint-Denis 94 Val-de-Marne 95 Val-d'Oise
Overseas	971 Guadeloupe 972 Martinique (territorial collectivity) 973 French Guiana (territorial collectivity) 974 Réunion 976 Mayotte
Special	69M Lyon (collectivity with special status) 75 Paris (collectivity with special status)
Former	975 Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Overseas collectivity)

v t e Historical provinces of France
General governments	Alsace Angoumois Anjou Artois Aunis Auvergne Béarn Berry Bourbonnais Brittany Burgundy Champagne Corsica Dauphiné Flanders Foix Franche-Comté Gascony Guyenne Hainaut Île-de-France Languedoc Limousin Lorraine and Barrois Lyonnais Maine Marche Lower Navarre Nivernais Normandy Orléanais Perche Picardy Poitou Provence Roussillon Saintonge Touraine Trois-Évêchés
Minor provinces and regions	Agenais Armagnac Beaujolais Bigorre Bresse Bugey Cambrésis Cévennes Comminges Couserans Dombes Forez Gâtinais Gévaudan Gex Labourd Nébouzan Périgord Ponthieu Quercy Rouergue Soule Valromey Velay Vermandois Vivarais
Foreign territories in 1789	Créhange Dabo Menton and Roquebrune Montbéliard Mulhouse Nice Salm-Salm Sarrewerden Savoy Tende [fr] Comtat Venaissin

• Use dmy dates from July 2013
• Corsica
• Islands of Corsica
• Mediterranean islands
• Regions of France
• Southern Europe
• Tyrrhenian Sea
• Territories of the Republic of Genoa