Napoleon claimed that he could recognize his homeland by its scent. And indeed, Corsica smells more intensely than almost any other Mediterranean island. The perfume of the island of Corsica is called macchia, an impenetrable carpet of juniper, broom, myrtle, mastic bush, thyme, lavender and many other herbs and shrubs.
Corsica in spring is a small paradise for smellers, and sometimes hell for pollen allergy sufferers. In the past, macchia was also the name for the Corsican resistance, because politically persecuted people or even common criminals often hid in the Corsican plant jungle. Today, macchia has become a trademark for the various products, from liqueur to bath oil and perfume. An advertising vocabulary that promises sales.
In summer, the macchia becomes a problem. The dense undergrowth dries out quickly in the heat and burns like tinder. A carelessly discarded cigarette or a shard of glass in which sunlight is concentrated is enough to ignite devastating fires. Often the fires are also set, here by farmers to clear with the fire, there by landowners who want to create new building land. The background is rarely completely clarified. Corsica holds a sad record. Because nowhere in Europe does it burn as often as here, about 500 times a year. 30 firefighting planes are stationed in Corsica. They are on alert around the clock.
In the severe forest fires in 2003, 18 people were injured in Corsica. On one weekend alone, 7,100 hectares of forest and bushes burned down in the Haute Corse department. 650 firefighters were in action.
While the east coast is lined with long sandy beaches, the west coast offers partly rocky, partly sandy smaller and larger bays. However, if you are looking for Ibiza hustle and bustle and cultural highlights, you will be disappointed. Corsica is known for its landscape with clear streams and rivers, whose water can be drunk unboiled. While there is still snow in the mountains, the Mediterranean often lures with 20 degrees Celsius warm water.
Here, alpine landscapes and lonely bathing bays are so close to each other nowhere else. With an average altitude of 568 meters, Corsica is considered the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean. More than half of the island lies above 400 meters, 50 peaks are higher than 2,000 meters. The highest mountain, Monte Cinto, measures 2,706 meters. And the feeling of altitude is particularly intense because the sea is so close.
If you walk through Corsica or sit on one of the many small wild beaches, you get a feeling for what the Mediterranean may have been like a thousand years ago. They still exist, the places where you can only hear the wind and the birds or the constant sound of the sea on the coast. In summer, the peace and quiet is over in many places, including Corsica. Then an armada of stinking motor yachts and jet skis roars along the coast.
On many backs of automobiles and motorcycles you can see it as a sticker, the black man’s head with frizzy hair and white headband, the Corsicans’ symbol of freedom. The experts do not come to a clear statement as to where the Corsican symbol comes from. In 1762, the Moor’s head with the headband was designated as the official coat of arms and symbol of the Corsicans’ fight for freedom under Pascal Paoli. There are many stories about the origin of the Mohrenkopf as a symbol of Corsican national feeling.
Historians say that the origin lies in Aragon. During the time of the power struggle between Pisa and Genoa, the Pope appointed the King of Aragon as administrator for Corsica and Sardinia. Aragon’s flag already showed four Moors spread around a cross, which is believed to have emerged from the victories over the Arabs during the Crusades.
Vincentellu d’Istria, a Corsican in Aragon’s service and builder of the citadel in Corte, fought against the Pisan and Genoese occupiers. He probably brought the Corsicans the Moor’s head. He became viceroy in Corsica, but was soon defeated by the occupiers and executed in Genoa.
Corsican music often has suffering and death as its theme. Many Corsican groups have rediscovered the old songs and rearranged them with modern rhythms and instruments. The singing is almost always in Corsican.
Language
Corsican is a language of the Italian-Romance group. As simple as that sounds, linguists have found it difficult to acknowledge it. It was not until the publication of the scientific lexicon of Romance linguistics in 1988 that Corsican was included in a list of 14 Romance languages and thus ennobled linguistically.
Corsican is not an imported or modified Italian, but the result of a long language development from Proto-Latin. The Tuscan influence was very strong in the 9th century. Despite their five centuries of political rule, the Genoese left little of their language, as they also adopted Tuscan as a written language.
Corsicans are committed to the recognition of their own language. This is most evident to the visitor when he sees the spray-painted town signs, for example Morosaglia in Merusaglia or Corte in Corti. The Corsican place names are predominantly Italian, because Genoa set a condition when it was sold to France in 1769: that the place names should remain Italian.
In small steps, the recognition of the language is gradually gaining a foothold. It is up to the local associations themselves whether they want to put up new town signs with the old names. Porto is now called Portu again. Corsican can be studied in Corte and is now officially recognized as a regional language by the French government. Thus, it can be taught in schools, but still does not have the status of a compulsory subject, which many Corsicans demand.
Hiking
Corsica’s high alpine world is not for beginners. Some of the hiking routes are extremely demanding and require good fitness and a lot of climbing experience. About 30,000 hikers visit the island every year. The GR (“Sentier de Grande Randonèe”) 20 is probably the most famous European hiking trail. It runs along the main watershed from Calenzana in the northwest of the island near Calvi to Conca in the southeast, near Porto Vecchio.
The route measures about 170 kilometres and 10,000 metres in altitude. The GR 20 runs for the most part through wild, uninhabited territory and is the only place that touches Vizzavona. In total, the GR 20 only meets a road four times, at the most important passes: Col de Vergio, Col de Vizzavona, Col de Verde and Col de Bavella. The route can be completed in 12 to 15 stages. 13 huts offer protection to hikers. In a narrowly marked part, camping is also allowed near the hut.
As an alternative to the GR 20, there have been easier routes between five and 20 hiking days for some years now, for example Mare e Monti, Mare a Mare Nord, Mare a Mare Sud.
