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Corsica: Islands
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Corsica is the most mountainous Mediterranean island.The island has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The natural vegetation is Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrubs. The mountains are cooler and are rich of forests of oak, and pine.Much of the coastal lowlands has been cleared for agriculture,which has reduced the mountain forests considerably.The island has a natural park (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse), which protects thousands of rare animal and plant species. The park was created in 1972 and includes the Golfe de Porto, the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and some of the highest mountains on the island. This park is protected.
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During World War II, while the Germans took control of Northern France, Corsica was part of The Vichy France (1940-1942) and then occupied by the Kingdom of Italy from 1942-1943. In the first half of the XX century many Corsicans (like Petru Giovacchini) promoted the unification of the island to Italy.
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Although politically a part of France, Corsica has had close ties with Italy. As in Sicily and other parts of Italy, Corsica was long noted for the practice of the vendetta, a blood feud between families or clans. Blood feuds are no longer common, but they have not been stopped in the less accessible parts of the island.
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Corsica has superb beaches, lush unspoilt countryside and stunning mountain scenery, but is perhaps best-known for its famous son, Napoleon. The island combines the best of French culture and lifestyle with that of its close neighbour Italy, resulting in a unique fusion which is defiantly Corsican. Refreshingly, Corsica has somehow managed to escape any large scale development.
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The French first came into the picture in the 16th century, when Corsica became caught up in the power struggle between France and Italy. The French victory freed the island from Genoese rule; ... the change was shortlived and Corsica was ceded back to the Genoese under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. Some historians call the subsequent second period of Genoese rule the 'century of fire'. Further fortification took place, along with suppression of the islanders. Many Corsicans, sick of the poverty and exclusion from the management of their country's affairs, emigrated.
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The mountainous island of Corsica is visible from the nearby islands of Elba and Sardinia, themselves not far from Italy. Handicapped by a small population and few economic resources, Corsica during the Middle Ages was ruled by or associated with various Italian states. Corsica's proximity to Italy has ... made it strategically of interest to such maritime powers as France, Spain, and Britain. Though not without rich soil, Corsica was plagued until the late twentieth century by malaria, causing the inhabitants to live for the most part in hilltop towns and villages considered safer and also easier to defend against endemic raids from the Barbary States. Not until the nineteenth century were any significant roads built. Thus Corsica's history has been continuously linked with that of other states, and since 1814 the island has been incorporated into France.
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