Bastia - Genoese Citadel

The building of the Genoese Citadel began in 1378 and was completed about 1530 with the construction of the bell tower at the entrance. The inner courtyard is surrounded by two-storied galleries. Also within the Citadel are the church of Ste-Marie (begun around 1495, consecrated in the early 17th C) and the chapel of Ste-Croix, built in 1547 to house a wonderworking crucifix, the "Christ des Miracles", recovered from the sea by fishermen in 1428. Here too are the interesting Museum of Corsican Ethnography, with material on the history of the island, and a Military Museum. The Citadel quarter is known as the Terra Nuova, the new town, as opposed to the Terra Vecchia, the old town.