Wednesday October 9 was a beautiful day in Bonifacio. A very sunny 23C for most of the day. We had decided to visit the Bastion of the Standard. These were the primarily Genoese fortifications designed in the 16th century after the 1553 Franco-Turkish siege and adopted to the new weapons and siege techniques of this period. There are exceptional panoramas of the port and the cliffs from these fortifications.
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| First-- dog socks. OMG- they're eating the dogs.... |
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| Just down the road from the entry to the Bastion. |
We passed a store with a towel with a Corsica map.
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| Corsica map-- We were in Calvi (northwest); I'Île Rousse (just north of Calvi); Ajaccio (about two thirds down on the west coast; and now Bonifacio (southernmost tip) |
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| Lots of people out for big lunches |
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| View of sea- just opposite that restaurant |
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| The Straits of Bonifacio-- Sardinia in the distance |
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| Walls of the Bastion |
There are 10 stops within the bastion. Entry is only 3.50 euros and the indoor halls of the bastion that where used by Genoese garrisons until the 18th century are now exhibition rooms detailing 1000 years of history in Bonifacio.
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| Not much room for a modern head |
There were a number of posters at each of the 10 stops. Stop #2 noted that ever since a Pisan Count named Bonifacio created it in the 9th century, the city and bottleneck (the entrance to the port) have been protected from invasions thanks to the fortifications. The defence system built by the Genoese in the 12th century resisted the 1420 siege by the King of Aragon. In 1553, the city was hit by massive French-Turkish cannonballs. In response to this disaster, the fortifications were reinforced.
We then went underground into the exhibition halls which are found in "the Stronghold of the Standard", the centrepiece of the fortifications built in the 16th century. The poster displays noted that the defensive system has primarily focused on the protection of the narrows leading to the port from seaborne attacks. The fortifications were started by the Pisans, modernized by the Genovese and updated by the French.
In a nutshell: Tradition maintains that Bonifacio was founded by Marquis Boniface II in 828. In 1092, Pope Urban II entrusted the management of Corsica to the Republic of Pisa (Pisan Period- 9th-12th centuries). Bonifacio developed as a free city until 1187. The Genovese period started from the 12th-15th centuries. The Republic of Genoa took control of Bonifacio in 1195 and Corsica in 1294, after the Pisans were defeated in Battle. The Genovese did not trust the Bonifacians and drove them out to make room for Ligurian families. In 1388, they made Bonifacio a truly autonomous city. This policy permanently aligned Bonifacio with Genoa and a Ligurian dialect is still spoken there. The Genovese period during the 15th-16th centuries involved the building of additional fortifications which would stand until the mid-16th century earning Bonifacio its reputation as an impenetrable citadel.
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| XIV- XV Centuries |
The siege of Bonifacio by the Franco-Turkish army interrupted construction of bastions. The Genovese learned from their defeat in the siege of 1553 and once they regained control of the city in 1559, they continued to modernise the fortifications to withstand cannonballs. During the Genovese period of the 16th and 17th centuries, the centrepiece of the city's defence, the Bastion de l'Étendard is in the form of a pentagon. The interior is made up of three levels. Since the attack of the Franco-Turkish Alliance in 1553, the citadel of Bonifacio, has not suffered any foreign threats. During the 16th-18th centuries, more work was done on the fortifications.
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| View from the fortifications |
In 1768, the French, who had intervened four times between 1738-1768 to help Genoa maintain its domination of the island, took possession of Corsica under the Treat of Versailles. Bonifacio became French, which retaining its identity, language and customs. The French on their arrival began a series of projects to enhance the city's defensive systems. At the end of the 19th century, there were new changes to Corsica's defence system.
We then went back outside to the panoramic views of the port and "the bottleneck".
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| Time for gelato |
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| Alain holding my peach/wine sorbetto. He had noisette. |
We noticed that there were a large number of hand-made knife stores in Corsica. Definitely a thing.
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| One of many hand-made knife stores |
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| One of the narrow streets with arches to collect rainwater. |
We headed back to the apartment to finish packing and rest. We then went to dinner at around 7:30 p.m.
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A night view of the Loggia and church at the large public space at one end of our street.
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We went to Restaurant "U Castille" about a three minute walk from our apartment in the other direction. It was a lovely spot with a small outdoor area and then three small rooms off part of the street.
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| Alain had filet with potatoes, polenta, vegetables-- very filling |
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| I had a delicious lamb shank with potatoes, polenta and vegetables |
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| The room we ate in-- very relaxing |
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| Looking up at the outdoor part- we were in a room on the right side of the street and there was a room just below this picture on the left side of the street. |
It was a lovely day in Bonifacio. We have really enjoyed our time in Corsica, l'Île de Beauté. Hard to believe that the whole Island only has a population of around 355, 000. It is a very unique place with its own culture and language. While French is the official language and Corsica is one of the 18 departments of France, many people speak Corsu (the native Corsican language), which is a mix between French, Italian and Ligurian (Genoese) languages. It is closely related to the Tuscan dialect of Italian.
One theme of our visit has been the presence of citadels in the main towns we have stayed in: Calvi, Ajaccio and Bonifacio. Of course, we have also chosen towns on the coast-- the Mediterranean is very beautiful. The food is also very unique-- incredible sheep and goat cheeses, charcuterie meats are delicious and there are many sweets made with chestnuts, and other nuts. Of course the wonderful Cap Corse Spritz's. The only downside is that transportation is a bit tricky if one does not want to travel by car.
We have discovered that Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) wrote six stories that took place in Corsica. The 1883 story "Vendetta" was partly set in Bonifacio and partly in Longosardo, Sardinia.
On Thursday October 10, we take the ferry to Sardinia where we will continue our adventure in Alghero.
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