Main places on the route: Napoleon’s House, Fesch Museum, Imperial Chapel, Austerlitz Square, Sanguinaires Islands.
Ajaccio city tour.
Ajaccio is the city where Napoleon was born. You can’t walk a hundred metres here without encountering an image of Bonaparte, be it a pedestal, an advertising poster or a souvenir shop. In 1943, the people of Ajaccio rose up against the Nazi occupiers and the city became the first in France to be liberated from the Germans. Since then Ajaccio has developed quite rapidly, its population has grown steadily, and today Ajaccio is the capital and in every sense the main city of Corsica.
Not far from Ajaccio are the extremely picturesque, especially at sunset, “Bloody Islands”.
At the time of Pope Gregory the Great there were references to the Latin city of Ajax, which stood a few kilometres from the present location of Ajaccio. At its present location, the city was laid out and founded at the end of the XV century. Corsicans could not live in the city as it belonged to the Genoese Republic. Ajaccio was incorporated into France only in 1768. On 15 August 1769, as you already know, Napoleon was born here. He lived in Ajaccio for only 9 years, but his life became a part of the city’s history for ever.
The jewel of Ajaccio that attracts travellers from all over the world is the Maison Bonaparte, located in the old quarter of the city. It is the same house where the legendary Napoleon was born and spent his childhood.
The Cathedral of Sainte-Marie is an amazing temple where the marble font in which Napoleon was baptised still stands. One of the cathedral’s chapels is decorated with E. Delacroix’s “Virgin with a Sacred Heart” (1798-1863).
Piazza Laetitia, named in honour of Napoleon’s mother, is marked by a bust of the Corsican emperor.
The palace of Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon Bonaparte’s uncle, is decorated with a collection of Italian paintings from the 15th to 16th centuries, Among the paintings are works by Botticelli, Lorenzo di Credi, Veronese’s “Leda” and Titian’s “Man with a Glove”.
Beyond the palace is the peaceful Emperor’s Chapel, built by Napoleon III especially for the burial of the remains of the Bonaparte family.
You can see 150 species of turtles in Vero’s unusual Cupulatta Park. It is 21km north-east of the N193 motorway and open from April to October.
See the colourful Sunday market on the seafront, where you should buy Brocciu goat’s cheese as a souvenir from Ajaccio.
For a good catch, visit the church of St Erasmus, a visit to which guarantees a fruitful fishing trip.
Find a rare vinyl record on the shelves of the large Musica shop.
More sights along the route
The Imperial Chapel is a chapel built near the Fesch Palace after the death of Joseph Fesch. This chapel is famous for its crypt, where Cardinal Fesch himself, Napoleon V, his son Napoleon VI and wife Clementine, and Napoleon Bonaparte’s parents are buried.
Piazza Austerlitz – this is where you will find the Napoleon souvenir boutique at the entrance. And from the top of the stone pyramid, Napoleon watches the bustle of the city, reached by two narrow staircases. The inscription carved on the slabs reads: “Napoleon I – Emperor of France 1804-1815”.
Piazzas Pierre Griffey and Foch – Ajaccio boasts an abundance of different squares, so next in line is Pierre Griffey Square, near the railway station, named after the resistance hero, a member of the secret Pearl Harbour mission. Another square, Place Foch, is famous for the colossal statue of Bonaparte crowning a fountain of four marble lions.
The Bloody Isles – a magnificent promenade leads right up to the fortress of Jetet, the view is breathtaking. From the fortress, by the way, there are daily excursions to the Sanguinère (Bloody) Islands in the Gulf of Ajaccio. The Sanguinerre archipelago is famous for the fact that its islands consist of pink porphyry. There are two ancient Genoese fortresses – La Parata, Castelucio and a lighthouse of the XIX century.
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – this cathedral was built at the end of the XVI century. It was designed by the famous Italian architect Giacomo della Porta. The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary belongs to one of the monuments of Baroque architecture. Since the beginning of the XX century the Cathedral is included in the list of historical monuments of France. In 1771 Napoleon Bonaparte was baptised in this cathedral.
The Museum of the History of Corsica was opened in 1988. It features hundreds of exhibits that illustrate the rich and colourful history of the French island. Among the most valuable items in the collection are historical documents, maps, coins, vehicles and some works of art.
The Capitellu Museum is tucked away on Boulevard Daniele-Casanova, and its halls contain an interesting exhibition on the everyday life of the city’s inhabitants in the 19th century.
A fascinating excursion is a visit to the “foreign quarter”, full of former palaces, villas and buildings commissioned by foreign magnates. These include, for example, the Anglican Church and the Grand Continental Hotel.
Take a 12-seater catamaran boat trip to appreciate the Corsican expanse.
The horse-riding school is very popular, and the local diving school even organises night dives.
