Corsica Driving Circuit

The popular seaside resort of Porto lies in the beautiful Bay of Porto at the foot of a promontory which is crowned by an old Genoese watch tower. The little harbor exports timber and granite among other products of Corsica.

In Corsica, the village of Centuri (pop. 600) is beautifully situated between the road and the harbor.

From the Col de la Serra (362 m/1,188ft), flanked on the left by two old watch towers and on the right by a windmill, there is a fine view of the west coast. To the east is the island of Elba, to the north Cap Corse, with the little island of La Giraglia off the point. At Centuri the road returns to the coast.

In Corsica, a winding road runs over the Col de Lavezzo and through the lonely Désert des Agriates, a hilly region of pastureland and macchia, to Ile-Rousse (pop. 2,774), a little port and seaside resort. It is not in fact an island, but takes its name from the red rocks of La Pietra. The town, which occupies the site of an old Roman settlement, was originally established by Paoli in 1758, during the war with the Genoese, under the name of Paolina, and was designed as a rival to Calvi.

The Corsican driving route continues by way of L'Ospedale to Porto-Vecchio (pop. 10,310), a port established by the Genoese and now a center of the cork trades, situated in the beautiful bay of the same name. It still preserves part of its circuit of walls and an 18th century Genoese citadel. Round the town are beautiful sandy beaches.

On the Corsica driving tour, after passing Bonifacio, the route continues to Propriano, in the Bay of Valinco, with a fishing and commercial harbor and a beautiful bathing beachcio.

This little town of St Florent (pop. 1,200), in the bay of the same name, originally grew up round a Genoese citadel (1440), and until the 18th C was the seat of the bishop of Nebbio and of the Genoese governor. Nearby are the remains of medieval Nebbio, with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (12th C), built of limestone in Lombard Romanesque style.

On the Corsica driving tour, from the beautifully situated little town of Vivario D69 runs southeast to Ghisoni. Here, however, a detour is recommended, going east from Vivario on D343 to Vezzani, situated high above the Tagnone valley, and then through two defiles flanked by tall rock pinnacles, the Défilé de l'Inzecca and the Défilé des Strettes, to Ghisoni.