Corsica
Corsica (Italien Corsica, French Corse, German Korsika) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily, Sardinia, and Cyprus). It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia. Corsica is closely related with the Italian region of Tuscany, and corsu, the local dialect, is very similar to the Tuscan dialect which is now the Italian language. Although the island is separated from the continental mainland by the Ligurian Sea and is much closer to the Italian than to the French mainland, politically Corsica is occupied by Metropolitan France but the natives are culturally Italians. Corsica is famed as the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte. His ancestral home, Casa Buonaparte, is located there.
History
It was incorporated into France in 1768 after a briefly independent Corsican Republic and is now one of the 26 régions of France, although strictly speaking Corsica is designated as a "territorial collectivity" (collectivité territoriale) by law. As a territorial collectivity, it enjoys greater powers than other French régions, but for the most part its status is quite similar. Corsica is referred to as a "région" in common speech, and is almost always listed among the other régions of France.
Encyclopædia Britannica
- Corsica, French Corse, official name Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, collectivité territoriale (territorial collectivity) of France and island in the Mediterranean Sea embracing (from 1976) the départements of Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud. Corsica is the fourth largest island (after Sicily, Sardinia, and Cyprus) in the Mediterranean. It lies 105 miles (170 km) from southern France and 56 miles (90 km) from northwestern Italy, and it is separated from Sardinia by the 7-mile (11-km) Strait of Bonifacio. Ajaccio is the capital. Although Corsica is still commonly described as one of 22 régions of metropolitan France, its official status was changed in 1991 from région to collectivité territoriale à statut particulier (territorial collectivity with special status). The unique classification provides Corsica greater autonomy than the régions. Area 3,352 square miles (8,681 square km). Pop. (1999) 260,196; (2014 est.) 324,212. [...] Bastia and Ajaccio, on the coast, are the largest towns and home to about half of the island’s population. In the early 21st century some four-fifths of Corsica’s population was urban. In northern Corsica the Balagne (once called the “Garden of Corsica”) is also densely populated. In contrast, sparsely populated rural villages, mostly situated at elevations between 650 and 2,600 feet (200 and 800 metres), have experienced much migration to the coast and to continental France. Despite a long history of emigration, there is overall growth in population, though many of the newcomers are retirees, which has led to a progressive aging of the population. Corsica’s standard of living, particularly in the interior, is lower than that of continental France. The island’s economic life is based primarily on tourism as well as the raising of sheep for ewe’s milk, which is used to make fine-quality cheeses, and the cultivation of citrus fruits, grapes (frequently with the aid of irrigation), and olives. Agriculture has been modernized along the eastern coastal plains. Industrial development is limited and focuses mainly on food processing.[1]
WWII
Corsica became part of the Southern zone of Vichy France after the Battle of France in 1940, and was thus not directly occupied by Axis forces, but fell under ultimate military control of Germany. In 1942, Italy occupied Corsica with a huge force. German forces took over on 9 September 1943 after Italy's treason (Fall Achse. The Germans faced evacuated the island by October 1943. Corsica then became an Allied air base, supporting the Mediterranean Theater in 1944, and the invasion of southern France in August 1944.
