Corte - La citadelle

The island of Corsica is one of the 18 regions of France. It was colonized the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Romans. After the Roman empire collapsed, Corsica got invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. For a short while the island belonged to the Byzantine Empire, then the Franks granted the island to the Pope, in the early 11th century Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion. The island came under the influence of the Republic of Pisa, later it belonged to Genua for centuries. In 1755 after a long fight for independence from Genoa the independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed, but in 1769, when the island was conquered by France. As the areas near the coast over centuries have been threatened by attacks and raids of pirates many old hamlets and dwellings are wide inland, high in the mountains.
The rocky outcrop was already fortified in the 9th century. A castle was built from 1419 on commissioned by Vincentello d'Istria, viceroy of Aragon. It is locally called "Nid d'aigle" (Eagle´s Nest). Around this castle the "Citadelle de Corte" was built. It was completed, when Corte was the capital of the Corsican Republic, that ended after the defeat of Corsican forces at the Battle of Ponte Novu (1769). Under Louis XV. and Louis XVI barracks were erected inside the citadelle, that later were converted into a prison. Between 1962 and 1983 the citadel was occupied by the Légion étrangère ("French foreign legion"), but meanwhile here is a museum.