Getaways in Ajaccio, Corsica

Best known as the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte, the town of Ajaccio (or Aiacciu in Corsican) dates back centuries before the French leader’s birth. In 1492, the Genoese moved the city to its present-day site, a location about two miles south of its original location. Through the years the Mediterranean port city—like the island of Corsica itself—passed back and forth between French and Genoese control, moving into French hands one last time in 1768.

Tucked between forested hills on the north and a peninsula on the south, Ajaccio and its Gulf of Ajaccio have a long history as a top seaport on Corsica, the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Shipbuilding has long been an important part of the local economy as well as fishing.

In the city’s earliest years, both defense and religion played important roles. One of the first structures in the city was a 15th century fortress built on the town’s peninsula; in the next century, work continued and the structure became a citadel. At that time the town’s population grew and several churches were constructed including St. Rochelle, St. Erasmus and St. John the Baptist.

Ajaccio’s most important historic tie remains its role as the birthplace of Napoléon, remembered to this day with many place names, statues and historic sites of interest to visitors. Today the city’s main street is Cours Napoléon, one of many reminders of the leader who was born here on August 15, 1769. The home where he was born and raised until he left the island for an education is the Maison Bonaparte, located in the Old City. This was the second home the Bonaparte family occupied after arriving on the island from Italy. Today the home, which was ransacked in the late 1700s but rebuilt soon after, contains exhibits on Napoléon.

Napoleonic history is also the focal point of the Napoleonic Museum at the Town Hall. Here statues and paintings recall the career of the ruler and his family; a separate medal room showcases the many decorations awarded to Napoléon during his career as well as historic coins and personal memorabilia including the last spoon used by the famous Corsican.

Downtown, the Ajaccio Cathedral, built in the late 1500s, is noted for its Venetian Renaissance style as well for its Napoleonic ties; here visitors can view the leader’s marble baptismal font near the entrance.

History in Ajaccio also includes art; the city’s Fesch Museum (built at the request of Napoleon’s uncle) is considered France’s second most important art museum in terms of Italian art after the Louvre. The collection, built around the 1,000-plus Italian paintings amassed by Napoleon’s uncle, includes collections of primitives, Roman baroque paintings, and other important works.

On a stroll through the narrow streets of Ajaccio it became clear to visitors that the residents here have never forgotten their ties to their most famous citizen. In his diary, it’s evident that Napoléon also never forgot his boyhood on this beautiful island about which he wrote during his isolation in St. Helena, “where is the blue sky of Corsica? Fate has decided that I must not see again the scenes to which the memories of childhood recall me.”

Video Resource

This YouTube video from Worldwide Travel Savings offers a nice look at this beautiful island.