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[Headnote: SOLENZARA.]
{45}{58} SOLENZARA. Whence a wheel road extends westwards into the forest of Bavella by the Col Bavella 18-1/2 m. S.W., and the Col Scalella, 22 m., 2982 ft. to Zonza, 24-1/2 m. from Solenzara; 4 m. farther is the village of S. Gavino di Carbini, 2292 ft., and other 2-1/2 m. the village of Levie; 30 m. S.W. from Solenzara, and 10-1/2 from Propriano is S. Lucia de Tallano, on the highroad to Aullene (see p. 27), and for continuation of this road to Propriano see p. 26.
The road to Bastia, after passing the Travo, 44 m., Vicchiseri, 46 m., and Casamozza, 48-1/2 m., arrives at the railway station of
[Headnote: GHISONACCIA.]
{53}{50} GHISONACCIA, pop. 850. On the Fium Orbo, 36 m. S.E. from Corte. From this a department road of 4-1/2 m. leads to the hot sulphurous baths of Pietrapola, with a large hotel in a healthy situation.
From Ghisonaccia a carriage road extends N.W. to the villages of Poggio-di-Nazza, 9-1/2 m., and Lugo-di-Nazza, 11-1/2 m. From Ghisonaccia railway station a forest road extends 18 m. N.W. to Ghisoni, where it joins the high road between Sartene and Vivario (p. 29). The southern prolongation of this road leads to Zicavo, Petreto, Bicchisano, and Portopollo, on the Gulf of Valinco.
Forty-six m. from Bastia is Casabianda. H. Perett; a village situated on a well-cultivated estate belonging to the government; formerly used as an agricultural penitentiary for juvenile criminals. In the hot season it is safer to pass the night at Casabianda than at Aleria.
[Headnote: ALERIA.]
miles from BONIFACIO miles to BASTIA
{58-1/4}{44-3/4} ALERIA. Inn. The capital of Corsica till the invasion of the Saracens in the 4th cent., now a poor village with an old Genoese fort, situated at the mouth of the Tavignano, 1-1/4 m. from the Etang de Diane. Ancient Aleria, the colony founded by the dictator Sulla about 82 B.C., occupied both banks of the Tavignano, which waters one of the finest plains in the world, where winter is unknown. The site of the town was well selected. The population was probably 20,000.
It was at Aleria that Theodore Neuhoff, a native of Altona, in Germany, landed to have himself proclaimed King of Corsica, March 1736. He died a pauper in London, and was buried in an obscure corner of St. Anne's churchyard, Soho. On a mural tablet against the exterior wall, west end, is the following epitaph written by Horace Walpole:—"Near this place is interred Theodore, King of Corsica, who died in this parish, Dec. 11, 1756, immediately after leaving the King's Bench prison, by the benefit of the Act of Insolvency. In consequence of which, he registered his kingdom of Corsica for the use of his creditors." His capital was Cervione. The lake de Diane is a great sheet of salt water with one narrow opening to the sea. It formed the harbour of Aleria, and was provided with quays, of which a vestige still remains. The lake contains an island 460 yards in circumference, composed of oyster shells covered with luxurious vegetation. Fish, and a cockle a species of Venerupis, inhabit the brackish water of the lake.
ALERIA TO CORTE.
Coach every other day; fare, 5 francs; time, 4 hours.
Thirty-one and a half m. N.W., by a picturesque road up the course of the Tavignano, passing Cateraggio, 2 m., Rotani, 5 m., commencement of bridle path leading N. to Tallone, 7-1/2 m., Tox, 9-1/2 m., Campo, 11 m., and Moita, 12-1/2 m. Seven m. farther up the main road a ramification extends N. to Giuncaggio, 4-1/2 m., and to Pancheraccia, 5-1/2 m.
Up the main road, 21-1/2 m. from Aleria, and near the bridge across the Vecchio, a bridle path strikes off S. to Rospigliani, 5 m., and Vezzani, 6-1/2 m. A little higher a ramification extends 5 m. W. to Serraggio (p. 8). The road, after passing several other ramifications with the Corte and Ajaccio road, arrives at Corte, p. 8.
Ten m. W. from Aleria are the cold saline sulphurous springs of Puzzichello, 190 ft., considered efficacious in the cure of syphilitic diseases, resembling in this property the water of Aulus in the Pyrenees. See Black's South France, West Half (Pyrenees).
[Headnote: PRUNETE.—CERVIONE.—ALESANI.]
miles from BONIFACIO miles to BASTIA
{79}{24} PRUNETE. Inn: Gaetan. Junction with road to Ponte alla Leccia, 44 m. N.W. (p. 9), leading through a region of chestnut trees and past many villages on the mountains, built chiefly on terraces. A coach runs from the station to Alesani called also Castagneto 1938 ft. 14 m. W.; ascending by Muchieto 808 ft. 3-3/4 m., Cervione 1073 ft. 4-1/2 m., pop. 1000; Inns: France: Voyageurs: an untidy village, once the capital of King Theodore's realm. From Cervione the road describes a long detour to the bridge across the Chebbia, whence it ascends to Cotone 1008 ft 6-1/4 m., the Col d'Aja 1236 ft., and Ortale 1489 ft., 1-3/4 m. from Alesani. Good red wine is made in the neighbourhood of Cervione. The dirty little village of Castagneto or Alesani is picturesquely situated on the side of a mountain overlooking a valley covered with chestnut trees. The diligence stops at an inn, where bread, eggs and coffee with goats' milk can be had and a comfortable bed. A char-a-banc from this inn to Piedicroce (Orezza) costs 10 frs., time 2-1/2 hours, 11 miles. For Orezza, see p. 34. Passengers from Prunete to Piedicroce or Stazzona should not stop at Cervione but continue the diligence route to Castagneto, whence start next morning. The drive between Castagneto and Piedicroce, 11 miles, is by far the most beautiful part of the road. The highest part of the Col d'Arcarotta is a narrow ridge between the valleys of Orezza and Ortia, commanding a charming view. See also p. 35.
{87-1/4}{24-3/4} PADULELLA. Four and a quarter miles west by a good road is San Nicolao, pop. 600.
[Headnote: STAZZONA.]
{84-1/4}{18-3/4} FOLELLI-Orezza station. Junction with road to Piedicroce 14-1/4 m. S.W.; by the course of the Fium'alto, the Chestnut country, and the village of Stazzona, 13-1/4 m. from Folelli, 1/4 m. from and 355 ft. under Piedicroce, and 1 m. from and 200 ft. above the spring of Orezza. The coach from the station stops at Stazzona, pop. 250. Hotels: *Paix, Casino. Very fine oleanders in the gardens. On the opposite side of the valley of the Fium'alto is Granajola, with the establishment Manfredi, 2016 ft. above the sea and 220 feet above the spring. The hotel Manfredi has the most select society, is the largest house, and its road from the spring is the least dusty; but as no public coach goes there it is necessary to hire a private conveyance either at Stazzona or Piedicroce, 3 or 4 miles. The charge in all the hotels is 7 frs. per day, not including coffee or tea in the morning. The hotels of Stazzona and the hotel Manfredi are the most convenient for the Spa drinkers; those of Piedicroce are too distant.
[Headnote: OREZZA.]
The Orezza spring is in the centre of a small terrace in the narrow valley of the Fium'alto, whose steep banks are covered with chestnut trees, and ascended by dusty winding roads. The water is a bicarbonate chalybeate, with an agreeable amount of free carbonic acid gas.
[Headnote: VESCOVATO.]
{89}{14} VESCOVATO STATION. Town 1-1/4 m. W., pop. 1500. *H. de Progreso in the large "Place" where all the coaches stop, near a fountain of pure gushing water, cold even in summer. The rather untidy town of Vescovato is almost hidden in the corner of a valley, 550 ft. above the sea, by woods of vigorous olive and chestnut trees. From it a coach starts daily to Porta, 15 m. W., by a bad, dusty, jolting road, passing through Venzolasca, pop. 1300, on the top of a hill, 732 ft., 1-1/2 m. from Vescovato. Three m. farther a road, left, 1 m., leads to Porri, 1718 ft., pop. 300. 7-1/2 m. from Vescovato is the Col S. Agostino, and then follow, 8 m., Silvareccio, 2198 ft., pop. 550; 8-1/2 m., Piano, 2230 ft., pop. 170; Casabianca, 4 m. farther, 2133 ft.; and then Porta, pop. 630; Inn: H. Franceschi, in the "Place," opposite the church, where the coach stops. In July and August the coach goes on to Piedicroce.
{91}{12} PONT DU GOLO. A little more than 3 miles from the bridge, at the mouth of the river, stood the town of Mariana, founded by Marius (B. 155, D. 86 B.C.), where Seneca most probably spent his exile, and of which there remain only a few insignificant fragments on the beach. In the vicinity are the ruins of a chapel, and about a mile farther those of the church, called La Canonica, with 2 aisles and a nave 100 feet long and 40 wide, ornamented with rows of pillars of the Doric order. Both church and chapel are in the Pisan style.
At Casamozza Station, 12-1/2 m. S. from Bastia, the Aleria railway joins the one from Corte.
{103} BASTIA. See p. 10.
Ponte alla Leccia to Piedicroce.
Eighteen miles S.E. by "Courrier" daily. Fare 3 frs. Time 5 hours, by a mountain road, making immense circuits round by the heads of ravines among rich pastures and great chestnut and beech trees.
Nine miles from the Ponte is Morosaglia, pop. 1060, with an inn, where the coach stops. A conglomeration of hamlets on the slopes of a mountain, one of which, Stretta, was the birthplace of Pascal Paoli. 2 m. farther is the summit of the Col de Prato with an inn, 3215 ft., 2850 ft. below, or 3 hours from the top of San Pietro, commanding a magnificent view of the Castagniccia or the Chestnut country, and the islands of Monte Christo, Pianosa, and Elba, floating in the haze between sky and water. See map on fly-leaf.
[Headnote: CASTAGNICCIA.]
The Castagniccia may be said to lie between the Golo and the Tavignano, bounded on the W. by the railway. The chestnut trees are not so famous for their size as for the qualify of their fruit.
The coach having passed the hamlet of Campana arrives at
[Headnote: PIEDICROCE.]
Piedicroce, pop. 600, several inns, 2104 ft., 18 m. from Ponte alla Leccia, and 650 ft. above the spring of Orezza by a winding, dusty, bad wheel road, passing Stazzona 1978 ft. above the sea.
Although Piedicroce is not a suitable place for those who come to drink the Orezza water, it is an excellent centre for excursions, the favourite one being to the top of Monte S. Pietro 5795 ft. in 3 hours, by the cabins of Tajalto 4600 ft., and a beech forest. Mule to nearly the top. Guide and mule, 5 frs. See also above.
Coach in July and August to the Vescovato station by Porta, p. 34.
Piedicroce to Prunete Station, 26 m. S.E.
The continuation of the road from Ponte alla Leccia.
From Piedicroce the road passes by Pied'Orezza, 2106 ft., 1-3/4 m. from Piedicroce, Piedipartino, 2124 ft., 2 m.; Carcheto, 2172 ft., 3m.; Brustico, 2293 ft. 4 m.; the Col d'Arcarotta, 2698 ft., 5-1/4 m. from Piedicroce, between the richly wooded valleys of the Fium'alto and the Alesani, and commanding a very fine view of both. From this the road gradually descends to Prunete, the most beautiful part being from this Col to Castagneto called also Alesani, where there is an inn and whence a coach starts daily to Prunete Railway Station.
[Headnote: CASTAGNETO.]
Seven miles from Piedicroce and 2 from the Col is Ortia, 2638 ft., pop. 400, hidden among chesnut trees; Felce, 2570 ft., 8-3/4 m., pop. 400; Pied Alesani 11 m.; Querceto, 2041 ft., and Castagneto or Alesani, 1938 ft., 12 m. from Piedicroce and 14 from Prunete Railway Station, the principal village in this valley.
A little below Castagneto, at the commencement of this chestnut wooded valley is Ortale, 1489 ft., pop. 280. The coach then having passed Cotone 1008 ft., 19-1/4 m., pop. 800, and having crossed the little bridge over the stream Chebbia arrives at Cervione, Inn, France: 1073 ft., 21-3/4 m. from Piedicroce, and 4-1/4 from Prunete. From Cervione another coach descends to Prunete Railway Station by Muchieto 820 ft. Prunete consists of a few houses near the beach, resorted to by bathers in summer, situated on the highway between Bastia and Bonifacio. See also p. 33.
Solenzara to Sartene,
46 m. S.W. This forest road, No. 4, ascends the valley of the Solenzara, crosses the great S.E. range at the Col de Bavella, descends into the valley of the Rizzanese, passes through the villages of Zonza, San Gavino, Levie, and Ste. Lucie, and joins the highroad between Ajaccio and Bonifacio at the milestone 76.690 (47-3/4 m.) from Ajaccio, 3-3/4 m. from Sartene, and 42 m. from Solenzara.
The road, after passing up by the S. side of the river through olive groves and "maquis," arrives at the Col and Maison de Cantonniers de Castelluccio, 210 ft., 4 m. from Solenzara. Two m. farther by the Pont de Ghiadole, the road crosses the Solenzara by the Calzatojo bridge, 6 m. from Solenzara, 340 ft., winds upward by the deep gully of the Fiumicello, which having crossed by the bridge 7-1/4 m. from Solenzara, ascends a steep winding road bordered with great trees to the Maison de Cantonniers de Rocchio-Pinzuto, 8-3/4 m., 1060 ft., at the foot of the great cliff of that name.
The road still winding upwards passes the immense wall of reddish cliffs called the Rochers de Bavella before arriving at the Col de Larone 10-3/4 m., 2056 ft. The road, still winding, ascends a huge promontory between the torrents Fiumicello and S. Pietro, separating into two distinct parts the forest of Bavella, and crosses the Pont de Bocintoro, 1510 ft., 12 m. A little farther, in a wild yet beautiful situation, is the Maison de Cantonniers d'Arghiavara. From the Pont 1-1/2 m. is the better house, la maison forestiere de l'Alza, commanding superb views, situated among great trees and nursery gardens.
The ascent from this is by a steep road, almost impracticable for vehicles, through a forest of the stateliest and oldest pines in Corsica.
18 m. from Solenzara and 28 from Sartene is the Maison de Cantonniers de Bavella, 3885 ft., near the summit of the Col Bavella, 4068 ft. In this house of refuge there is generally comfortable accommodation and a supply of provisions. The surrounding huts are occupied in July and August by people from the plains about Solenzara, who come here to escape the fever-producing malaria. The house commands, even from the windows, grand views.
On the other side of the Col, 550 ft. below it and 2-1/4 m. from it, is the Maison de Cantonniers de Ballatojo, from which the road descends amidst great pines mixed with a few oaks and ilexes, in view of the Asinao forest and of the lofty granite pinnacled precipices, 10 m. long, between Mt. Colva, 4520 ft., and the Point Tintinaja, 6658 ft.
Zonza, good inn, pop. 1040, height 2582 ft., 24-1/4 m. from Solenzara and 21-3/4 m. from Sartene, hidden among chestnut trees and conveniently situated for visiting the forests of Zonza, Asinao, and Bavella.
[Headnote: S. GAVINO.]
3-1/2 m. beyond is San Gavino di Carbini, pop. 770, height 2238 ft., a poor miserable village, where there existed in 1365 a sect of socialists, with whom even the women and children were held in common, and by whom were committed frightful abominations.
[Headnote: LEVIE.]
30 m. from Solenzara and 16 m. from Sartene is Levie, consisting of various hamlets. Inn where the coach, running between this and Sartene, stops. Pop, 2040, height 2238 ft This village, easily approached, is situated among mountains abounding with game. It commands superb views, and makes in April a very pleasant residence. In winter it is rather cold. On the road between Levie and Santa Lucia di Tallano, 5-1/2 m. from the Col d'Aja Vignarsa, 2408 ft., are seen the valley of the Rizzanese and the Gulfs of Valinco and Ajaccio. On the grassy table lands of the Col d'Aja are many rare flowers, among others a species of red gladiolus.
[Headnote: S. LUCIA DI TALLANO.]
5-1/2 m. W. from Levie and 11-1/4 from Sartene is Santa Lucia di Tallano, pop. 1300, Inn where the Sartene and Levie coach stops. S. Lucia is built in terraces on the hills rising from the Fiumicicoli. Church 14th cent. The wines grown in this neighbourhood command good prices in the Corsican market.
Below, on the Fiumicicoli, is a hot sulphurous spring. On the way down to the river by the sides of the Point Campolaccia, near a place called Campolajo, is beautiful hornblende, page 27.
From Santa Lucia the road leads southwards by the Rizzanese to Sartene, p. 27.
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF CORSICA.
It is not known who the original inhabitants of Corsica were. The Phocaeans of Ionia were the first civilised people that established settlements in Corsica. About the year 560 B.C. they landed on the island, and founded at the mouth of the Tavignano the city of Aleria, which after a short occupation they were compelled to abandon. After an interval of a few years they again returned, rebuilt Aleria, which they fortified, and endeavoured to maintain their ground against the natives. After a struggle of some years they were again compelled to leave the island. The next foreign occupants of Corsica were the Tuscans, who founded the city of Nicaea, but they in their turn were compelled to give way before the growing maritime power of the Carthaginians, whose jurisdiction in the island was unquestioned till the beginning of the first Punic War. On that occasion the Romans sent out a fleet, drove the Carthaginians from the island, and exacted at least a nominal homage from the native population. They did not, however, fully establish their power here till about thirty years later, and even then rebellions and revolts were of constant occurrence.
[Headnote: ROMAN COLONIES.]
The first step made towards the real subjugation of the island was the establishment of the two colonies on its eastern coast-that of Aleria by Sulla and that of Mariana by Marius. In the time of the emperors the island had fallen into disrepute among the Romans, by whom it was used chiefly as a place of banishment for political offenders. One of the most distinguished of these sufferers was the younger Seneca, who spent in this island eight years of banishment ending with 49 A.D.
[Headnote: ARMS.] On the downfall of the Roman empire in the West, Corsica passed into the hands of the Vandals. These barbarians were driven out by Belisarius, but after his death, 565 A.D., the resistless hordes of Attila once more gained possession of the island. Since that period it has successively owned the dominion of the Goths, the Saracens, the Pisans and the Genoese. The impress of the last is to be found in the style of the church architecture, while the armorial crest of the island, a Moor's head, with a band across the brow, dates from the expedition of the Saracen king, Sanza Ancisa.
The patroness of Corsica, the "Protectrice de la Corse," is Santa Devota; who is also the patron saint of Monaco. The Corsicans often style the Virgin Mary simply La Santa; and in their common exclamation Santa! Maria is understood.
[Headnote: SAMPIERO.]
Among the most renowned and intrepid patriots in the struggle of the Corsicans to free themselves from the Genoese was Sampiero, born of poor parents towards the end of the 15th cent, in Dominicacci, one of the hamlets which compose Bastelica. His house having been burned down by the Genoese, the inhabitants in the 18th cent. constructed a new one on the same site, on which Mr. Wyse, an Irishman, affixed a tablet with an inscription in 1855, expressing his admiration of the man. After serving with great distinction in the armies of the Italian princes and in those of Francis I., King of France, Sampiero returned to Corsica in 1547 and married the fair Vanina, heiress of Ornano, belonging to one of the oldest families in the island.
Shortly after the marriage the Corsicans, led by Sampiero, revolted against the tyranny of the Banking Company of St. George of Genoa, and, assisted by the French, under General Thermes, overthrew them after six years of hard fighting and much bloodshed, in which Sampiero and his peasant army bore by far the greatest share. All, however, they had gained at such immense sacrifice was completely lost to them by the treaty of Chateau Cambresis, 1559, by which France agreed to restore Corsica to Genoa. Sampiero and his family had to leave the island. Such was the virulent and implacable hatred Sampiero bore to the Genoese, that he with his own hand, in cold blood, strangled mercilessly his trembling wife three years after (1562) in Marseilles, for having allowed herself, in his absence, to be persuaded to make an arrangement with the Genoese to save the patrimony of her children. Sampiero escaped with impunity, although he buried his murdered wife publicly, and with pomp, in the church of St. Francis at Marseilles.
Antonio Francesco, the younger son, who was, when a mere child, with his mother when she was murdered, was afterwards assassinated at Rome by a Frenchman, whom he had insulted while playing at cards.
On the 12th June 1564 Sampiero landed at the Gulf of Valinco with a band of 20 Corsicans and 25 Frenchmen, to make another desperate attempt to free Corsica from the hated yoke. After a five years' life-and-death struggle, fired by a feverish thirst for revenge, the Corsicans had to yield to the might of Genoa, supported by well-drilled Italian, German and Spanish mercenaries, commanded by their greatest generals, Doria, Centurione and Spinola, and aided by a powerful fleet.
On the 17th January 1567 Sampiero was slain in an ambuscade laid for him in the defile of Cauro, into which he had been led by forged letters brought him by the monk Ambrosius of Bastelica.
His elder son Alfonso d'Ornano continued the struggle after his father's death, till the exhausted state of Corsica compelled him to desist and to accept a general amnesty proclaimed by the Genoese governor George Doria in 1569. Alfonso d'Ornano was afterwards created "Marechal de France."
[Headnote: PASCAL PAOLI.]
From 1755 the Corsicans, led by the brave Pascal Paoli, carried on the struggle for their independence against the Genoese, who were occasionally assisted by the French. On the 15th May 1768 the former sold their presumed claims to the island to the French, who ended this war of subjugation by the terrible battle of Ponte Nuovo, 9th May 1769. On the llth of June Paoli left Porto-Vecchio for London; where, at the instance of the Duke of Grafton, then prime minister of England, he received an annual pension of L1200.
After Corsica had been made one of the departments of France he was invited in 1790, by the National Assembly, to take the supreme command in the island. On his arrival at Paris (3d April 1790), on his way to Corsica, he was feted as the Washington of Europe, and Lafayette was constantly by his side; while, on his arrival at Marseilles, he was received by a deputation, among whom was Napoleon. In July 1790 he landed at Macinaggio, on the east side of Cap Corse.
The execution of the king and the cruelties and excesses of the Convention having shocked the philanthropic spirit of Paoli and alienated his sympathies, he organised a revolt to separate Corsica from France, and succeeded by the aid of the English fleet, 20th July 1794, when Calvi, the last of the forts, surrendered. On the 10th of June 1794 the Corsicans declared that they would unite their country to Great Britain, but that it was to remain independent, and to be governed by a viceroy according to their own constitution.
The English, from ignorance, managed the affairs of the island so badly, that when in 1796 Napoleon sent troops against them, they were joined by the Corsicans, who together forced the English to leave the island. Not only had a certain Gilbert Elliot been named viceroy instead of Paoli, but this same man having written to the Government that it was necessary for the safety of the English to remove Paoli from the island, George III. wrote Paoli a letter inviting him to return to England and to his court. It is suspected that Andrea Pozzo di Borgo, president of the Council of State, under the short viceroyship of Elliot, influenced, for his own ends or from jealousy, the English in Corsica against Paoli.
Paoli lived twelve years more in London, died peacefully on 5th February 1807 at the age of 82, was buried in St. Pancras churchyard, and a small monument to his memory was placed in Westminster Abbey. He bequeathed to four professors of the intended Corte University salaries of L50 a year each, but as it was never established the money was given to the Ecole Paoli in Corte, attended by 120 pupils.
Since the expulsion of the English, the French have remained in undisturbed possession of Corsica. The English occupation lasted from 1794 to 1796.
[Headnote: CHARACTER.]
The Corsicans look to the Government for the improvement of their island far more than to their own efforts, for they themselves are neither industrious nor enterprising. The roads, railways, bridges and other public works are constructed chiefly by Italian labourers. The women do the drudgery both in their homes and on the fields, carrying great loads on their heads, as the mules do on their backs; but bestow little labour on the cleanliness of their children and dwellings, and do not make good domestic servants. In many small towns women are the bread bakers and assistant butchers. The villages, excepting in Cape Corse, are untidy. The use of the bath is almost unknown to young and old, rich and poor.
[Headnote: VENDETTA.]
The tendency to take summary vengeance, called vendetta, still exists in the villages; where the people having no social amusements, nothing to read, nor any other resource than cards during the winter nights, are apt to quarrel over trifles; which, fanned by their local petty jealousies, assisted often by the generous nature of their wine, ripen into deadly feuds.
[Headnote: OAKS.]
The staple food of the majority of the inhabitants, as well as of the horses and mules, during a great part of the year, is the chestnut. For domestic purposes it is mostly ground, when it costs only about half the price of wheat flour, which is procured chiefly from Marseilles, Corsica itself producing very little. The ease with which the harvest of chestnuts is annually obtained tends to foster indolence and deaden enterprise among the peasantry. The one great danger to which the generous chestnut trees are exposed is a conflagration. Besides olives, pines, beeches and chestnuts, there are also important forests of evergreen oaks, the Quercus Ilex, called also the holm oak. It has abundance of dark-green ovate leaves, mostly prickly at the margin; the acorns are oblong on short stalks; the stem grows to the height of 80 ft.; the wood is dark-brown and hard, weighing 70 lbs. the cubic foot, while the same of the Quercus ruber or British oak weighs only 55 lbs., and the tree attains a vast age. The cork oak, Quercus suber, grows either singly among other trees or in groups, principally in the southern parts of the island. The bark is of little commercial importance.
[Headnote: AGRICULTURE.]
The inhabitants do not assist nature. Their seed potatoes are of an inferior class, their fruit trees receive little attention, very few of the vineyards are carefully cultivated, and their sheep, goats and pigs are of poor breeds. Of late years many have taken to the growing of lemons and citrons; which in a good year yield a very handsome profit; but the harvest, through untimely frosts, is precarious. The headquarters of this culture is Cape Corse. The olive trees yield a more secure though less remunerative harvest. That terrible scourge the phylloxera has got among the vineyards, where it is committing its usual havoc.
The drives and pedestrian excursions about Corsica are superb, especially along the east side and up the centre by Sartene, Zicavo and Ghisoni (p. 27), and the road between Calvi and Ponte alla Leccia (p. 20). There are inns in all the large villages, though the only good and comfortable hotels are in Ajaccio.
[Headnote: FORESTHOUSES.]
Enterprising tourists wishing to explore the great forests and to scale the mountains should endeavour to procure letters of introduction from the chief forestal authorities at Ajaccio, Corte, Bastia or Calvi to the occupants of the Maisons Forestieres in the forests to be visited. Although the gardes forestieres are generally hospitable, they are afraid to follow their inclination without orders from their superiors. For each day in these houses 7 to 8 frs. should be given.
INDEX.
AGRICULTURE 41 Aitone forest 18, 23 Ajaccio 3 Bankers 3 Cab tariff 3 Cathedral 5 Climate 6 Curiosities 6 Drives 3 Episcopal chapel 3 Excursions 5 Fountains 6 Hotels 3 Library 5 Memorial chapel 5 Mission 3 Napoleon 4 Picture gallery 5 Pozzo di Borgo 4 St. Pancras 6 Sepulchral chapels 6 Steamers 2 Water-carriers 6 Ajaccio to Bastia 7 —— to Corte 7 —— to Sartene 23 —— to Vico and Evisa 22 Albertacce 19 Albuccia point 28 Aleria 32 —— to Corte 33 —— to Puzzichello 33 Alesani 33, 35 Algajola 15 Amphibole 27 Apa 24 —— to Zicavo 24 Appietto 22 Arcarotta col 33, 35 Asco 19, 20 Aullene 27
BALAGNA VALLEY 20 Balogna 23 Baracci baths 26 Barcaggio 14 Bastelica 24 Bastia 10 —— to Calvi 14 —— to Cap Corse 11 —— rail to Aleria 34 Baths of Baracci 26 —— of Caldaniccia 6 —— of Guagno 23 —— of Guitera 25 —— of Orezza 34 —— of Pietrapola 28, 32 —— of Puzzichello 33 Bavella col 26, 31, 36 Belgodere 21 —— to Olmi-Capella 21 —— to Tartagine forest 21 Bettianella lake 9 Bevinco 10 Bianca bocca 22 Bicchisano 26 Biguglia lake 10 Bocca Melza 16 Bocognano 7 Bonifacio 30 Caves 31 Charles V. 30 Napoleon 30 Bonifacio to Bastia 31 Borgo 10 Botticella 14 Brando cave 10, 12 Brustico 35
CALACUCCIA 19 Calasima 19 Calcatoggio 17 Caldanella 17 Caldaniccia 6 Calenzana 22 Calenzana 15 Calvi 15 —— to Ajaccio 16 —— to Bastia 20 Campo 25 Cap Corse 11 Capella mount 27 Capronale col 16 Cargese 17 Cargiaca 27 Carrosaccia 6 Casabianca 34 Casabianda 32 Casamaccioli 19 Casamozza 34 Cassalabriva 26 Castagneto 33, 35 Castagniccia 35 Castellaccio col 16 Castello punta 24 Castiglione 20 Cauro 23 —— to Bastelica 24 Celaccia col 26 Cervione 33, 35 Character 40 Chestnut trees 1, 41 Chidazzo 18 Cineraggia mount 21 bocca 22 Cinto mount 1, 19, 20 Climate 2 Coast lakes 10, 31, 32 Corona mount 19, 21 Corsican arms 38 —— character 40 —— dimensions 1 —— patroness 38 Corscia 19 Corte 8 —— to Aleria 8 —— to Mt. Rotondo 8 Coscione mount 25 Cotone 33, 35 Cozzano 27 Cristinacce 17 Cuculla mount 18
DENTE CAPO 21 Diana lake 32 Dominicacci 24 Don Giovanni mount 27
ELSE VALLEY 24 Erbajo col 8, 16 Erbalunga 12 Ersa 14 Escutcheon 38 Evergreen oaks 41 Evisa 18, 23 —— to Albertacce 18
FELCE 35 Feliceto 21, 22 Fium Orbo source 28 Folelli 33 —— to Piedicroce 33 Francardo bridge 9, 20 Frasseto 24, 25
GALERIA 16 —— to forests of Filosorma 16 Ghisonaccia 32 —— to Ghisoni 29 Ghisoni 29 —— to Ghisonaccia 29 Giraglia island 14 Golo source 19 Gozzi mount 22 Granace col 25 Grosso mount 21 Guagno baths 23 Guitera baths 25
HISTORY 37 Houses of shelter 41. See also under "Maison."
ILE ROUSSE 15 Incudine mount 25 Inzecca 29 Isolaccio 28
KYRIE ELEISON 28
LACCIOLA COL 17 La Piana 17 Larone col 26, 36 Lavatoggio 21 Leone coronato 30 Levie 26, 32, 37 Lonca valley 16 Lozzi 19 Lugo 8 Lugo di Nazza 32 Lumio 15 Luri 12
MACINAGGIO 13, 39 Maddalena isle 25 Maison Aitone 18 —— Alza 36 —— Arghiavara 36 —— Ballatojo 36 —— Bavella 36 —— Canareccia 28 —— Castellaccio 18 —— Castelluccio 36 —— Ghiraldino 28 —— Marmano 28 —— Ometa 16 —— Popaja 19 —— Rocchio-Pinzuto 36 —— S. Antoine 28 —— Sciattarina 18 —— Scrivano 28 —— Tagnone 18 —— Zipitoli 24 Manganella col 9 Mariana 34 Marmano forest 28 Menta col 24 Moltifao 20 Moor's head 38 Morosaglia 35 Morsaglia 14 Mouflon 2 Muchieto 33, 35
NAPOLEON 4, 26, 30 Nelson 26 Nino lake 19 Niolo 19 Nonza 12, 14
OLIVESE 27 Olive trees 20 Olmeto 26 Olmi-Capella 21 Ometa ilex forest 16 Oninanda col 20 Orezza spa 34 Oro mount 1 Ortale 33, 35
PADRO MOUNT 1, 21 Padulella 33 Pagliorba mount 1 Palasca 22 Palneca 28 Pancheraccia 33 Paoli 39 Patron Saint 38 Pecorile 14 Perticato forest 16 Pertusato mount 31 Petrella col 19 Piano 34 Piedicroce 34, 9, 35 —— to Prunete 35 Pietrapola baths 28, 32 Pines 7 Pino 12, 14 Pinus Laricio 7 Pinus Pinaster 7 Poggio di Nazza 32 Pont Diable 20 Pont du Golo 34 Ponte alla Leccia 9, 22 —— to Calvi 20 —— to Piedicroce 34 Ponteniello forest 24 Ponte Novo 9, 22 Popolasca 20 Porri 34 Porta 34 Porto 16 —— to Evisa 18 —— to Ponte Francardo 18 Portopollo 32 Porto-Vecchio 31 Prato col 35 Propriano 26 —— to Solenzara 26 Prunelli source 28 Prunete 33, 35 —— to Alesani 33
QUERCUS ILEX 41
RAPARA COL 28 Renoso mount 7, 24 Retto mount 19 Rogliano 13 Rotondo mount 1, 8
SAGONA 17, 23 —— to Aitone forest 17 —— to Vico 23 St. Antoine col 23 —— Bernardino col 14 —— Colombano col 22 —— Devota 38 —— Florent 14 —— Georges col 24 —— Gavino di Carbini 37 —— Lucia di Tallano 26, 27, 32, 37 —— Lucie col 12 —— Maria Siche 24 —— Nicolao 33 —— Pietro mount 35 —— Sebastien col 22 —— Severa 12 Salario fountain 6 Sampiero 24, 38 Sartene 27 —— to Bonifacio 30 —— to Vivario 27 Scala di Santa Regina 10 Scozzolatojo col 29 Scrivano col 28 Sea-urchins 22 Sebastien col 17 Seneca's tower 12 Serra col 14 Serraggio 8, 33 Sevi col 17 Silvareccio 34 Solenzara 31 —— to Sartene 36 —— to Zonza 31 Sollacaro 26 Sorba col 29 Speloncato 21 Spelunca 18 Sposata 25 Stazzona 34 Steamers 2, 10, 11 Stretta 35
TACA FOREST 27 Tafonato mount 16, 18 Taravo source 28 Tartagine forest 21 Teghime col 14 Theodore Neuhoff 32 Torre all'Osse 12 Traunato mount 20 Treccio ilex forest 16
UCCIANI BRIDGE 7 Uomo di Cagna 30
VADINA 8 Valdoniello forest 18, 23 Vanina 25, 38 Vecchio source 28 Vendetta 40 Venzolasca 34 Verde col 28 Verde forest 28 Vergio col 18 Vescovato 34 —— to Porta 34 Vico 23 Ville 21 Vivario 8, 29 —— to Pietrapola 8 —— to Sartene 27 Vizzavona 7
WINES 2, 11 Wyse, W., 24
ZECAVO 25 Zicavo 25, 27, 28 Zonza 26, 31, 36
THE END.
Printed by R. & R. CLARK, Edinburgh
* * * * *
Errors and Uncertainties noted by Transcriber
When the Index and body text disagreed on spelling, the form shown in the General Map was used. The abbreviation "ft" has been regularized to "ft." where full stop was missing or invisible.
Inconsistencies (as alphabetized in Index, where applicable)
Between the 51st and 53d kilometre stones 60 kilometres-stone, inconsistency in original Calenzana (pg 15) Index entry reads "Calenzani", but body text has "Calenzana"; it appears to refer to the same place as the earlier Index entry "Calenzana" Granace (col) body text "Garanace", Index "Garance", Map "Granace". The Map's spelling was used because it can be found in modern sources. PONTE NOVO. The site of the disastrous battle ... The Ponte Nuovo is distinctly ... ... the terrible battle of Ponte Nuovo ... [Index] Ponte Novo 9, 22 the General Map and the town description (p. 9) use the "Novo" spelling; other references (p. 22, 39) use "Nuovo". The Index as printed had parallel entries for each spelling, omitting p. 39 Col St. Sebastien [text and Index] Col Sebastien [text and Index] variant forms of same name Zicavo ... 2385 ft. Zicavo, 2445 ft. same place: map has 2345 ft.
Errors
[Contents] Ajaccio to Sartene text reads "Sartene" Portotorres, at the north-west extremity of Sicily error for Sardinia and other 2-1/2 m. the village of Levie error for "and another"? S. Lucia de Tallano, on the highroad to Aullene text reads "Lucie" Ortia, 2638 ft., pop. 400, hidden among chestnut trees text reads "chesnut trees" From 1755 the Corsicans, led by the brave Pascal Paoli text reads "Corscians" Quercus Ilex text and Index: should be "Quercus ilex" [Index] (Ajaccio) to Corte page reference missing from text may be intentional: Corte is on Ajaccio-Bastia itinerary Corscia not an error here: "Corscia" is the name of a village Levie text has "Levie 37, 32" only
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