Porto-Vecchio is a town in France located in the Corse-du-Sud department in the south of Corsica. Porto-Vecchio is the third largest city in Corsica. It has been able to develop economically, culturally and touristically over the years, which makes it a must for any backpacker wanting to discover Corsica. It is inhabited by 10,326 inhabitants according to the 1999 census.
Beaches
Cala Rossa Beach - North of the Gulf of Porto-Vecchio.
Turquoise water, white sand, pink rocks. A majestic view of the
mountains when you bathe.
Santa-Giulia - a few kilometers to the
south (beware, a lot of people in season) a must.
Palombaggia
Beach - The beach is very long but very crowded in season.
La
Chiappa.
Saint Cyprien Beach
Pinarello beach - go through the
pine forest: To do more wild.
Tarco Beach
Other
Dalida's House - You only have to ask people to find it
because it is very well known.
Antiquity
It is the main seat of the so-called Torreian
civilization (3rd and 2nd millennia BC) whose main remains remain in
Porto-Vecchio, in the eponymous place, Torre. The present port is
doubtless founded or retaken by the Greeks of Syracuse in the life
century BC. and is located at the site of the Roman "Portus
Syracusanus."
Middle Ages
The region, though fertile, was
deserted in the High Middle Ages due to malaria that infested it as
well as the persecution of Genoese settlers in the city of
Bonifacio. From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the lords
of the Rocca kept this land under their authority, and the
indigenous peoples living in the mountains continued to lead their
cattle there during the winter.
Modern times
At the
beginning of the sixteenth century, Bishop Giustiniani, Bishop of
Nebbio, wrote:
"... We find the parish of Carbini, the only
one in the Delà des Monts that is subject to the jurisdiction of the
bishop of Aléria." This parish had only five villages, the best
known of which is Levie, because gentlemen lived there. The titular
church of the parish is that of S. Giovanni de Carbini, which has a
very beautiful bell tower; she has a considerable herd of mares, but
their size is small. This country suffered greatly from the
incursions of privateers before Portovecchio was inhabited. Although
located at a distance of twenty good miles, Portovecchio is part of
this same parish. It is nowadays that the Office has colonized this
place, and the country has thus found itself admirably defended. -
Agostino Giustiniani in Description de la Corse, traduction de
l'Abbé Letteron tome1 p. 62) »
After the passage of the
lordship of the Rocca under the direct administration of the bank of
St. George, the Genoese founded a colony and built a fortress with
many bastions (1539) to protect themselves from the Barbarians.
Destined to be a capital of jurisdiction and to allow the
development of the plain, the Genoese colony of Porto-Vecchio proves
to be a failure: due to malaria, the permanent threat of Turkish
privateers mooring nearby and of the aggressions of the Corsicans,
the city is abandoned several times. After various attempts at
settlement, the Republic of Genoa decided to encourage the
settlement in the citadel of island families from the mountains,
Quenza mainly.
During the seventeenth century, Porto-Vecchio
was in fact populated by mountain populations. However the vast
majority of the inhabitants continued for generations to return to
the mountain during the summer, fleeing malaria and thus preventing
real development of the place. During the nineteenth century, swamps
dried up.
Contemporary era
Long a small town compared to
other cities in southern Corsica, such as Sartène or Bonifacio, it
benefited from the sanitation of swamps after World War II, and
experienced significant development during the administration of
Jean-Paul of Rocca Serra, to become a major tourist center since the
1980s, with the construction of Figari Airport in particular.
Today, Porto-Vecchio is home to the second homes of many
personalities, such as Laetitia Casta, Mylène Farmer, Paris Hilton,
Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni.
Situation
The third largest commune in Corsica, Porto-Vecchio
is a seaside resort on the southeast coast of Corsica. It is
dominated to the west by the reliefs of the Hospital (Punta di a
Vacca Morta - 1,312 m) and the Cagna, which are the extreme southern
extension of the Monte Incudine massif. The city is bordered on the
east by the Tyrrhenian Sea. By its area, Porto-Vecchio is the 3rd
largest municipality in Corsica (after Sartène and Calenzana).
Porto-Vecchio is today the largest agglomeration in the Far
South of Corsica, although its historic capital is Bonifacio, the
former capital of the province of the same name that covered the
entire region.
Highly known for the beaches that surround it
(Cala Rossa, Palombaggia, Santa Giulia ...), the Corsican city has
salt marshes of about ten hectares today abandoned, which produced
about 1,000 tons two per year.
Geology and relief
Its
territory extends to the Tyrrhenian Sea to the southeast, from a
ridge line to the northwest, part of the southern terminus of
parallel ridges of the main chain of the island, passing through the
Monte Incudine massif and declining until to the sea in
Monacia-d'Aullène via the Montagne de Cagna.
Hydrography
The territory of the municipality is crossed by the rivers Cavo, Oso
and Stabiacciu (as well as one of its tributaries the Bala).
Climate and vegetation
Porto-Vecchio enjoys a Mediterranean
climate with a hot summer, classified Csa according to the Köppen
classification. Rainfall, which is moderate throughout the year, is
concentrated in the fall while summers are rather dry. Minimum
temperatures are particularly high, both in winter and summer, due
to the proximity of the sea. The table below shows temperatures and
rainfall for the period 1981-2010. The Météo-France station in
Chiappa is the one with the highest average annual temperature in
metropolitan France with 17.2 ° C over the period 1981-2010.
Maritimes
Porto-Vecchio has a commercial port and a maritime
station, located at the Syracuse wharf and managed by the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of Ajaccio and Southern Corsica. The city is
connected to the port of Marseille by regular rotations ensured
until 2020 by the company Corsica Linea (ex-SNCM) every Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday. Since February 2020, crossings to Marseille
have been provided by La Méridionale at almost the same frequency.
There are also connections to Toulon, Nice, Savona and Piombino,
provided by Corsica Ferries on a more irregular basis. This same
company offers a seasonal service to Sardinia to the ports of Porto
Torres and Golfo Aranci.
Aerial
The nearest airport is
Figari Sud Corse Airport, 23 km from the property.
Railways
Like the rest of the south of the island, the town has not been
served by rail since 1943, when the rail link with the rest of the
network was closed. The nearest stations are:
to the north,
Casamozza train station, 122 km;
to the northwest, Ajaccio train
station, 139 km.