Day Trek to Old Town and the Citadel
Off early this morning for a hefty walk to Old Town. Not sure of the elevation change or the number of steps, but it’s a lot. The walk will be steep but a little shorter than taking the road. But how did we settle on Bonifacio for this trip? Glad you asked.
Bonifacio is the oldest city on Corsica, founded around 830AD by Count Bonifacio of Tuscany. Yes, there were inhabitants before then, the Romans, of course, and even way back around 6,750BC there were people here. This was determined when a skeleton of a woman was found in a cave nearby who is known as “Dame de Bonifacio”. Guess it was on her driver’s license.
According to legend, Bonifacio is the land in Homer’s “Odessey”. It’s also known as the “Mediterranean’s Sentinel”, or simply, the “Citadel of Cliffs”. It gets this name for being built on steep cliffs of limestone overlooking the sea. On our walk to the top, there were several excellent places to snap a picture of just how much of the city is hanging over these cliffs. Don’t want to be around the day erosion wins!
Old Town and the Citadel
Living on the edge
Up the hill, the easy way
Coastline
Bonifacio
At the top, Old Town is much like the others with narrow, winding cobblestone streets lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants waiting for the tourists to arrive. We’re there early so not a lot of people wandering around but that will change in a couple of hours.
Entry into Old Town with a working drawbridge
Drawbridge mechanism
Street in Old Town
Street in Old Town
Parking in Old Town
Of Course, a cathedral
The altar
Napoleon Bonaparte stayed here
The citadel, a fortress built by the Count, is located at the other end of Old Town overlooking the entrance to the harbor. This stronghold was perfect for protecting the natural harbor. Not much is left of the citadel except a round tower and some wall ruins.
Bonifacio from Old Town
The remains of the Citadel
Brief history. In the 12th century, Bonifacio was captured by the Genoans. They massacred the entire population and replaced them with Ligurian families who were offered, as an incentive to settle here, exemption from taxes and customs in Genoan ports. A dialect of Ligurian is still spoken in Bonifacio today. As the town grew it developed into a mini-republic and a large Genoan garrison was built.
In the 14th century the King of Aragon attacked Bonifacio and laid siege for 5 months hoping to starve the people out. Didn’t happen. As a matter of fact, at one point the defenders even threw cheese at the Aragon invaders. Not sure why they thought that was a good idea since they really were starving. Anyway, they managed to get a boat out to Genoa asking for help, they came, the Argonites left.
Today the town is all about tourists. Lots of hotels, restaurants and shops have sprung up to support the industry and create a stylish coastal town with lots of history. There is one other ancient site in Old Town you can participate in that we, unfortunately, could not. At the time we were there, the Stairs of Aragon were closed to the public. These steps are carved right into the cliff face and lead down to the ocean and a fresh water well, all 187 steep, uneven stairs! The sign at the gate where you begin your descent stated that you can only go down (and climb back up!) these stairs if you have closed-toed shoes, wear a hard hat, and are in excellent health. Then, and only then, would they take your 5EUR. Too bad it was closed.
Enough for today. Time for the long walk back down to the wharf and maybe find a nice restaurant for a glass of wine and dinner.
