region
MARINE HARBOR IN CAP CORSE
Explore Rogliano and its navy, Macinaggio
“If you ever go to Corsica, if you plan to spend a season there, remember the name Rogliano…. I have not seen in Corsica a better nest for rest, a more desirable vacation spot than this Rogliano: 3 hamlets climbed on 3 mountain spurs, at the bottom of a valley, above a green conch, immense, all in the forest and which opens out to the sea in the distance ... ”Hervé Bazin.
Land of wheat mills, and the sea, it is the largest port of Cap Corse.
Very active since antiquity, the Romans already traded in wine and oil transported in amphorae. In 1571, this port saw the departure of the 4 feluccas who left for Lepante in defense of the tomb of Christ, a happy expedition ...
Cultural and architectural heritage of Rogliano
THE CASTLE DA MARE
Rogliano, capital of the seigneury of San Colombano
Rogliano therefore, is a superb village in Cap Corse, made up of several hamlets which are located above the Macinaggio navy. This ancient Pagus Aurelianus was for a long time the capital of the Lordship of San Colombano in the hands of the Genoese lords, the DA MARE. Their castle, built in 1198, leaves us only its majestic ruins on a peak at the foot of the mountains: keep, cisterns, surrounding walls so imposing since 1554, when it was demolished by the Genoese.
And it was while returning from the inauguration of the Suez Canal that the Empress Eugenie made an improvised stopover at Macinaggio, and went on foot to Rogliano, at the wish of one of her sailors who had made the trip. humble asks to go say hello to his mother, residing in the hamlet of Magna. The road was in bad condition at the time, and it was at the Church that the Empress stopped, without having the courage to continue another kilometer to reach Magna. She donated the Holy Table, an elegant balustrade in Carara marble. And she offered an embroidered handkerchief to each of the little girls who had come to welcome her on that cold night, in the church square.
It is since then that the road connecting Macinaggio to Rogliano bears the name of "path of the Empress".
CONVENT
Giacomo Da Mare, powerful Lord worried about the salvation of his soul, left all his lands as a testament in 1520 to build a monastery there and melted all his coins, his jewelry and his gold in order to make chalices and cruets ...
THE BROTHERHOOD, OR CHURCH OF THE CROSS
On the death of his cousin Giacomo Santo Da Mare, Jacques Negroni wanted the tomb of Da Mare, current church of St Agnel, to be closed forever. He then built a new church just opposite, to serve as a tomb for him and his descendants, and he was the first to be buried there in January 1592.
THE CHURCH OF ST AGNEL
Agnel was a priest monk from the 6th century, who went on a crusade against the infidels, and was the first to fight barbarism in Corsica. In 1510, the Roglianais built their church and put themselves under the protection of St Agnel, in the hope of being sheltered from the Barbary invasions… This church was enlarged in the 18th century and enriched with sculptures and paintings…
The village having been more often than in its turn the prey of the barbaresques, saw flourish in the XVI and XVII century a good ten round towers for the surveillance. The square towers built inland served as homes for the notables and allowed the population to take shelter there in the event of an attack ...
WINDMILLS
To this landscape invite themselves with happiness the remains of the windmills on the hills, round constructions, decapitated, which could remind us of the watchtowers…. Imagine for a moment the happy effect that these mills could produce when they turned with the wind!
THE PALACE OF AMERICANS
In this Renaissance decor and ruins of the Middle Ages, stand out, superb, the imposing square houses of the Americans…. At the end of the 19th century, many Corsican capes emigrated to Central America in order to survive. Some did good business there and sent the dollars needed for the construction of beautiful and large houses, often with such a majestic tomb. The Genoese were called upon for the construction of these buildings, hence the "Italian house and garden" style.
TOWERS
Of the thirty schist sentinels built along the 92 km of Cap-Corsin coastline, only fifteen remain standing, more or less well preserved.
From Lavasina to Negru via the Finocchiarola and Giraglia islands, they mark the Cape Corsican landscape.
Round to eliminate any blind spot and promote a defensive posture, these constructions, 9 to 17 meters high,
were guarded by a small number of armed men paid by each village community.
They rise on several levels: a basement for the reserves of water, food and ammunition; two floors to house the garrison, a terrace bordered by a parapet pierced with loopholes or even gunboats sheltered by machicolations.
These defensive works once formed a real strategic communication network: if a suspicious ship approached, a fire was lit. This signal was echoed from turn to turn.
Populations and animals then retreated towards the interior of the valleys to escape the attacks of the barbaresques.
Since 2002, these towers have been the property of the Collectivité Territoriale de Corse. Five are classified as historical monuments:
Erbalunga, Santa Maria della Chiapella, Albu, Nonza and Negru.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES OF CAPE TOWN
Between white sand beaches and black pebble beaches, Cap-Corse, often nicknamed the Island in the Island, offers a most varied coastline. Punctuated by its Genoese towers, we discover real havens of peace in lush greenery, far from any tourist overcrowding. They are a delight for lovers of nature, scuba diving, or idleness at the edge of crystal clear water. From Pietracorbara to Negru, via the tip of Barcaggio, there is no shortage of wild beaches!
