Sartène – “la plus corse des villes corses!”

motto:”En chaque recoin de mon temps, il existe une ruelle de village qui m’attend avec deux rives de silence accumulé dessous et dessus…”(Ghjacurnu Fusina – auteur corse)

Sartène est la plus grande commune de Corse(presque 4000 habitants!) et l’une des plus pittoresques, restée fidèle aux traditions corses depuis le Moyen-Âge. Prosper Mérimée qui adorait l’île, en général, et Sartène, en particulier, l’a surnommée “la plus corse des villes corses!” Voici son histoire en qqs mots: la ville a été fondée en 1550 par les Génois qui en confièrent la garde aux riches aristocrates, mais en 1565, des pirates attaquèrent la ville et réduisirent en esclavage 2/3 de la population!!! Au 19e siècle, les 2 clans de la ville s’opposèrent avec pertes et fracas – jusqu’à l’accord de paix de 1834. Un vrai plaisir de se balader parmi les maisons aux façades grises et brunes, vers les remparts de granit dominant la vallée avec ses vieilles ruelles, comme un labyrinthe de venelles pavées et de passages secrets – bref, un endroit magnifique et intéressant à visiter… 🙂

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motto:”At each corner of my time, there is a village lane waiting for me with two river banks of silence accumulated below and above…”(Ghjacurnu Fusina – Corsican author)

Sartène is the largest small town in Corsica(about 4000 people!) and one of the most picturesque, faithful to the Corsican traditions since the Middle Ages. Prosper Mérimée who loved the island, in general, and Sartene, in particular, nicknamed it “the most Corsican town of all Corsica!” Its history in a few words: the town was founded in 1550 by the Genoese who assigned it to the rich aristocrats, but in 1565, pirates attacked it, and got 2/3 of the population enslaved! In the 19th century, the 2 clans of the town fought with loss and fuss – until the peace agreement in 1834. It’s very pleasant to walk along the houses with gray and brown ‘facades’, towards the granite ramparts dominating the valley with its old back streets like a maze of paved alleyways and secret passages – long story, short: it’s a beautiful and interesting spot to visit… 🙂
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N.B. Prosper Mérimée was an important French writer of the 19th century, one of the pioneers of the ‘novella’, a short novel or long short story; he was also a noted archaeologist and historian. You may have read or heard of his novella “Carmen”, which became the basis of Bizet’s famous opera “Carmen”.