Whenever you travel there is likely to be something happening close by, however if you would like to plan your trip around a specific event or festival, then here are details of some of the more interesting ones.
Rural Festivals
Corsica has many rural fairs and festivals that celebrate local produce and they are a fantastic insight into the Corsican people and their love for the island.
A Fiera di U Casgiu, is a rural cheese and local produce fair in Venaco, as seen on Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes. With around 10,000 visitors a year, the Foire de l'Olivier, Montegrosso honours the olives of the Balagne in the delightful setting of an olive grove in Montemagiorre and just down along the coast in the Balagne village of Aregno, the Foire de l'Amandier includes tastings, painting exhibitions, events for children and cooking contests all based around the almond and almond trees. For those who love wine, Fiera di U Vinu, in the heart of the village of Luri, invites the public to taste wines from throughout Corsica and is a major gathering for the island's wine growers.
Music Events
The island hosts a wide range of musical events throughout the year. In June the streets of Calvi will reverberate with the music of the annual Festival de Jazz or Calvi Jazz Festival (23rd - 28th June 2009). Attracting many 'big names' from the Jazz scene, main concerts are held on a stage below the citadel but the event also includes impromptu 'jam' sessions on the Quai Landry.
The amphitheatre in the village of Patrimonio is the setting for the Nuits de la Guitare, a festival that takes place every July and draws stars from the world of guitar, be it jazz, flamenco, blues or rock.
Calvi on the Rocks in July is a youthful music and arts festival with a mix of electronic music and digital art and includes a concert each night in the citadel (first weekend in July).
More traditionally, Festivoce, in and around Pigna, is a celebration of Corsican music and arts with concerts of polyphonic music from June to September. Polyphonic singing is at the heart of Corsican culture and singers from around the world perform around the citadel at the Rencontres Polyphoniques de Calvi in September.
Historical Events
Corsica celebrates Bastille Day on the 14th July with all of the pomp and circumstance you would expect from a French island. Also in July, in Bastia, A notte di a memoria - the Relève du Gouverneur is a re-enactment of the arrival of the French governor with the Citadel cloaked in light-and a drum parade through the streets. On another historical note, the Fetes Napoléoniennes in Ajaccio celebrates the August birthday of Corsica's most famous son with period processions and fireworks display.
Diary of Events in Corsica
