Corte

The only town of any size in the heart of the Corsican mountains, far from any coast, Corte was proclaimed capital of the short-lived independent Corsican Republic by Pascal Paoli in the 18th century, before the island became part of France. Its citadel, spectacularly perched on a rocky peak overlooking the confluence of the Tavignano and the Restonica, now houses the Museum of Corsica, devoted to the island's ethnography and history. The steep lanes of the upper town, lined with tall granite houses, climb up to the castle's eagle's nest, offering plunging views over the surrounding gorges at every turn. Today a university town and a starting point for hikes in the Restonica gorges and the Rotondo massif, Corte remains deeply identified with Corsican national identity and history.

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