About Corsica

Corsica, the Granite Island, was called by the ancient Greeks “Kalliste”, the most beautiful one. A mountain stranded in the sea soaring dramatically to 9000 feet, with 650 miles of unspoiled coastline, where the Mediterranean is deep crystal turquoise-blue.

Corsica is sparsely populated and holds a traditional sense of values that makes it a rather welcoming and very safe place to visit.

Corsica is not a resort island where things get “staged” for tourists. It is an unspoilt place, tranquil and authentic, without attractions parks, fast-food chains, where one gets a true feeling of adventure and freedom, so rare now in Western Europe.

Spirited, wild and nurturing, Corsica is a well-preserved maternal cradle of early human civilization inviting people to reconnect with their roots and their spirit. From the Stone Age until the last century, civilization has engraved its mark on Corsica, the most significant area in Europe for the quantity and the quality of megalithic statue art and one of the richest historic landmarks of Western Europe.

Photo Courtesy Laurent Cognard

Neolithic dolmen and statue menhirs in the wilderness.

In May 1769, the French army conquered Corsica and the island became annexed to France. However, Corsican historical and cultural identity is very distinctive. Corsica has its own language - Corsu, its own flag, A Bandera, and national anthem, Diu vi Salvi Regina, that honors the Universal Queen and Mother.

The Corsican flag

In this text of 1755, during the independence of Corsica, Pascal Paoli defined the great principles of the Corsican Constitution that will later be part of the inspiration for the Constitution of the United States of America. Today, five American towns are named Paoli, in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Oklahoma, Colorado and Wisconsin.

There is a Università di Corsica, and Corsican press and media. The island produces its own fabulous wines, beers and very high quality local food. Corsican cuisine is splendid, healthy and full of character. Modern Corsica has harmoniously preserved its ancient traditions and customs. Corsica enjoys much wealth, but human values come first. Corsicans are ardently attached to their land, the “Terra Corsa.”

Corsican traditional polyphonies, sacred and secular singing and music, are some of the most powerful expressions of the island’s culture. Corsican polyphony was described by the late Lady Dorothy Carrington as: "it was like hearing a voice from the depths of the earth; a song from the dawn of time; from a beginning that one never dares believe is accessible.”

Metaphysics, symbolism and mystical traditions emerging from a very ancient shamanic past are interwoven into Corsican daily life and the island’s customs.

Corsicans are people of character, freedom fighters, hospitable and generous. Their spirit has been forged by 9000 years of tumultuous history, successive invasions and the ruggedness and splendor of their beloved land. Magic still lives in Corsica, through its land, and its people.

The Spinner

The Bandit

The Shepherdess

Fortified Citadel in the
heart of the island

Corsica is somewhat forbidding, offering superficial access to many, and opening its heart to few. Without being properly guided and introduced by an insider, access to the intimate and authentic Corsica and its “living culture” is difficult.
Corsica is the birthplace of Napoleon, who said:” Even blinded I could recognize my island just by its scent.” This intoxicating fragrant flora, a machja, or in French le maquis, the aromatic brush, covers a large part of the “Scented Isle.”

Corsica is an island of contrasts, with its snowcapped mountains belonging to the ancestral way of life, its fine sand beaches, the medieval Genovese towers and its infinite variety of rocks shaped like supernatural creatures.

Village nestled in granite crags

Fifteen century Genoese tower

Superb fine sand beaches

Photo courtesy of
City of Aiacciu

From the imperial city of Aiacciu to the highest mountain lakes, through hills of olive and chestnut trees, vineyards and medieval villages perched like eagle’s nests to esoteric churches, Corsica offers to its visitor a “voyage fantastique” to another land, another way of life.

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Twelve century Roman chapel

"Corsica is a French département, but Corsica is far from being France” Alexandre Dumas