Today we are visiting the island of Corsica, France, docking at the largest city of Ajaccio.
This little boat was taking the very heavy ropes from the ship to some of the moorings.
Here's the view from our balcony. The cruise ship next to us is advertised as a luxury experience by Explora, a division of MSC cruises.
We did a tour of Corsica, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. I found it strange that this island is part of France, when all of the surrounding islands are Italian.
Turns out, back in the 1700s, it was under Italian rule. For about fifteen years in the mid 1700s they were able to become independent due to the efforts of Pascal Paoli. He studied in Florence during the age of enlightenment. He came back to Corsica and wrote the first articles of Democracy in the world. Every household had two votes. He is considered the hero of Corsica.
The French invaded in 1768, and they won. Paoli had to flee so he wouldn't be beheaded. The French banned the Corsican language in public, and made the only language French. In the 1970s, that ban was lifted. About 30 percent of the inhabitants are bilingual and speak both languages.
There was also a period where pirates and slave traders came to the island. About seventy watch towers were built on the smaller islands surrounding Corsica. If pirate or slave ships were spotted, smoke would be released at the towers. That allowed everyone to hide in the dense forested areas in the mountains. The slave traders stole white and black people, especially children. Some towers still remain.
Corsica's main economy is tourism. They are known for beautiful beaches and warm weather attracting many French tourists.
According to our guide, they have so many tourists that they can't catch enough fish to feed them all. There are fish farms out a bit from shore.
Napolean was born in 1769 to a semi noble family. At age nine he was sent to military school on the mainland. He was a brave soldier, fighting right alongside his troops, winning many battles. He got greedy and power crazy, and ended up exiled. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and we learned a great deal more about him. Too much to include here. 😃
Many streets, plazas and shops sport his name. There is a very large monument dedicated to him.
He is depicted with his hand over his stomach. It is said he often stood that way because he had stomach pain. He died in exile at age 51 of stomach cancer.
We did a bit of a walking tour in the old town area. We saw the house Napoleon was born in and lived at as a child.
Typical street in old town.
There is a cathedral in the old town built in 1577. Pope Francis who recently passed away made his last foreign visit there six months before his death.
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Beautiful pipe organ
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Upon our return to the ship, there was a smaller cruise ship docked between us and the Explora. It's owned by a French company called CroisiMe, and even had a small swimming pool. Total of 197 passengers.
The day ended with another amazing sunset!