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. The island produced sheep, honey, resin and wax, and exported many slaves, not well considered because of their fierce and rebellious character. The Romans, who built a colony in Aléria, considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman world. Its population was influential in the Mediterranean during its long prehistory.Īfter 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 last three variations derive from the most ancient Greek name of the island, " Σειρηνούσσαι" ("Seirenoussai", meaning of the Sirens) - the very same Sirens mentioned in Homer's Odyssey.Ĭorsica has been occupied continuously since the Mesolithic era. To the Ancient Greeks it was known as Kalliste, Corsis, Cyrnos, Cernealis, or Cirné. The origin of the name Corsica is subject to much debate and remains a mystery. The medieval influence of Pisa in Corsica can be seen in the Romanesque-Pisan style of the Church of Aregno. Corsica is the smallest Metropolitan French region by population, and the third-smallest overall after Mayotte and French Guiana. Corsican, the native tongue, is recognised as one of France's regional languages. Because of Corsica's historical ties to Tuscany, the island has retained many Italian cultural elements and many Corsican surnames are rooted in the Italian peninsula. The future Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio: his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is today a visitor attraction and museum. 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 as a result France went on to annex it in 1769. Corsica's second-largest town is Bastia, the prefecture of Haute-Corse.Ĭorsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it seceded to become a self-proclaimed, Italian-speaking Republic. 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. 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. The island is a territorial collectivity of France. As of January 2022, it had a population of 349,465. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. 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, which is the land mass nearest to it. Corsica ( / ˈ k ɔːr s ɪ k ə/, Upper Corsican:, Southern Corsican:, French: Corse ( listen)) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France.
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