Destination Guide

History of St Florent and Cap Corse

Often called an island within an island, the Cap Corse is a maquis covered peninsula, 10km wide and 40km long, whose history sets it apart from the rest of the island.

Tiny ports divide the east side, whilst the western villages are sited on rugged cliffs. On the west of Cap Corse, narrow roads wind above a dramatically serrated coastline, dotted with little coves, whilst the sea washes on the rocks below and woods and maquis outline the peaks above. Cap Corse remains virtually untainted by tourism and it is only in the last twenty years that hotels have appeared, the highest concentration in Macinaggio and Centuri Port. Beaches are tucked in between rocky promontories and villages and can be covered with shelves of Posidonia leaves, which although not appealing to wade through, protect the coast from erosion and provide breeding grounds and shelter for the marine life that reside in these waters. They are one of the most important elements of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem and are a protected species.

Many people explore the Cap in a day's trip from Bastia but we recommend that you start with the east coast and drive clockwise so that you are always driving in the inside lane - the road is winding and narrow and some of the drops precipitous. Nonza is a flower-garnished slate roofed village, which seems to have sprouted from its craggy foundations. Centuri Port is a charming fishing village and a good lunch spot, as its many restaurants base their plat du jour on the catch made that morning. Macinaggio, on the east coast, has a lovely beach and is the start of the Sentier des Duaniers (customs officers route) a trail which leads along the coast, through fragrant maquis and the Capendula nature reserve to Barcaggio. The fishing port of Erbalunga on eastern coast clings to a little jagged promontory, opal waves lapping against gaudy fishing boats. Its narrow streets form a tight network around the tiny harbour and are lined with restaurants and boutiques and set the scene for various artistic exhibitions and festivals including the jazz festival in August. Wine lovers will not want to miss sampling the wines of Cap Corse, including Clos Nicrosi, the finest and rarest white wine of the island.

The Cap Corse was inhabited by various ancient civilisations (including the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Romans) but it became significant in the 10th century when Pisan lords arrived and established fiefedoms in the region. The next century saw Genoese settlers drawn to the vineyards and once the Genoese defeated the Pisans, the feudal lords of Cap Corse became important allies of the new rulers. Until the French arrived, two families ruled and fought over the peninsula, the da Gentile in the south and the da Mare in the north. The Genoese ignored the place so the lords were able to control their profits to a greater extent than elsewhere on the island. They were well positioned for trading with French and Italian ports and by the 17th century Cap Corse was economically the most successful region in Corsica. Piracy was a problem which is why there are thirty fortified towers built around the coast, providing refuge for the local villagers in times of trouble.

The corniche road that circumnavigates the Cap Corse was only built in the mid 19th century, so it remained a place apart, accessible only from the sea. As a result, they were the only merchants and sailors on an island of mountain dwellers, and as they had no overland access to the rest of the island, when the agricultural economy declined (Phylloxera struck in 19th century) hundreds of Capicursini were forced to emigrate, many of them travelling to the Americas to seek their fortune in sugar, coffee or gold (a third of all Puerto Ricans are of Corsican descent, and a president of Venezuela was third generation Capicursini). These emigrants often returned once their fortune was made and built the fancy Tuscan style villas, Spanish haciendas or American colonial palazzi that can be seen in the villages along the cap.

Today, though wine continues to be a major export and the indigenous Cedrat is being marketed into liqueur and jams only made locally, it is tourism that is the main economy, though there is still little evidence of its development in this area.

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