Where is Corsica

Where is Corsica?

It is a surprising statistic, but only 4% of the UK population know that Corsica, despite its French heritage, actually lies off the coast of Italy. This is perhaps one of the reasons Corsica has managed to remain one of the most beautiful places in the world, and holidays in Corsica are so special.

With 5,500 square miles, Corsica is the third largest island in the western Mediterranean, and about a third of the surface area of Sardinia, its Italian neighbour to the south. Its coastline extends to over 600 miles and it rises to nearly 9,000 feet - the highest island in the Mediterranean, and twice the height of Ben Nevis. Truly a mountain in the sea, its rugged scenery includes alpine peaks, snow-capped until late spring, deep gorges, rushing torrents, lofty pine forests, glacial mountain lakes, high mountain pastures and valleys, many inaccessible except by foot or horseback.

French is the official language, and is spoken by everybody but you will hear Corsican spoken everywhere, in the villages in particular. The Corsican language derives from the Genoese occupation and is close to Italian. Dialects vary from area to area - even from village to village.

GEOGRAPHY

Geologically, Corsica is part of the continental alpine system and is broadly divided into two parts - the larger western part, formed of crystalline rocks (granite, gneiss, diorite), and the eastern part formed of sedimentary rock (schist, slate and shale). The dividing line between these two main parts runs roughly from St. Florent in the north, southwards to Corte, then southeast to Solenzara and the eastern coast. There are two other smaller areas not included in these two main parts - the eastern alluvial plain, which runs from Bastia down to Solenzara, narrowing at Moriani to a few hundred metres; and the spectacular southern limestone tip at Bonifacio.

The difference in physical scenery, natural flora and local architecture between these areas is dramatic. A ten-minute drive can take you from one extreme to another. Variety is provided by the different kinds of rock within each broad area, their colours (from black to green to deep red to pale pink) and weathered shape. The crystalline part of the island includes the main peaks: Monte Grosso (1938 metres), Monte Padro (2393 m), Monte Cinto, the highest (2706 m), Monte Rotondo (2622 m), Monte d'Oro (2389 m), Monte Renoso (2352 m) and Monte Incudine (2136 m). This chain of peaks form the spine of the island, running from near Calvi in the northwest to Bavella in the southeast. This natural division is also the watershed and divides the island into the two historic regions called l'En-Deca-des-Monts (to the northeast) and l'Au-Dela-des-Monts (to the southwest). The main valley runs northeast and southwest from the chain, and many of the valleys do not connect with each other, except by footpath. The steep gradients have produced some dramatic gorges like the Spelunca between Evisa and Porto, the Santa Regina carrying the Golo river down from the Niolo and the Tavignano above Corte.

There is an intricate network of ancient footpaths and mule paths, some of them granite paved, criss-crossing the whole island linking valley with valley, region with region, and making Corsica a walker's paradise. Once, travel around Corsica was only possible by using these paths and some areas like the Niolo were inaccessible except by foot or mule until the early 20th century. From these two large natural areas, the island divides further into natural regions, each distinctly different from its neighbour. There are three distinct climatic zones, coastal Mediterranean up to 500 metres, mountain Mediterranean between 500 and 1500 metres, and alpine above 1500 metres, each zone having distinctly differing vegetation discussed below but it is the natural boundaries that have produced the historic regions of Corsica.

To find our more about each of the regions, click HERE

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