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Bastia (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 & Corsican
Corsican language

Corsican is a continuum of Romance languages spoken and written on the islands of Corsica and northern Sardinia , alongside French language and Italian language, which are the official languages....
: Bastia), is a commune in the Haute-Corse
Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse is a France Departments of France. It constitutes the northern part of the island of Corsica....
 department of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 on the island of Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. It is the capital of the department. Bastia is also an important Corsican port and is famous for its wines.

ated in the northeast of Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, at the base of Cap Corse
Cap Corse

Cap Corse, a geographical area of Corsica , is a 25-mile long peninsula located at the northern tip of the island. At the base of it is the second largest city in Corsica, Bastia....
, Bastia is the principal port of the island and its principal commercial town. The average annual temperature is about 15.3 °C, and there are usually five days of freezing weather per year.






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Bastia (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 & Corsican
Corsican language

Corsican is a continuum of Romance languages spoken and written on the islands of Corsica and northern Sardinia , alongside French language and Italian language, which are the official languages....
: Bastia), is a commune in the Haute-Corse
Haute-Corse

Haute-Corse is a France Departments of France. It constitutes the northern part of the island of Corsica....
 department of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 on the island of Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. It is the capital of the department. Bastia is also an important Corsican port and is famous for its wines.

Geography

Situated in the northeast of Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, at the base of Cap Corse
Cap Corse

Cap Corse, a geographical area of Corsica , is a 25-mile long peninsula located at the northern tip of the island. At the base of it is the second largest city in Corsica, Bastia....
, Bastia is the principal port of the island and its principal commercial town. The average annual temperature is about 15.3 °C, and there are usually five days of freezing weather per year. The wind in Bastia is frequent and violent, and the annual rainfall is copious (more than 700 mm). However, there are about 340 days of sunshine per year.

History

Before the occupation of Corsica by the Genoese
Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
, Cardo was a large city. Around the city were little villages where the fishermen of Cardo lived. This little port was called Porto Cardo, which means "the port of Cardo."

The Genoese felt the need for shelter from the sea storms and began to construct, in the time of governor Leonello Lomellini, in 1380, a bastiglia, also known as a stronghold or citadel.

With time, the bastiglia (Bastia) became more prosperous and important than Cardo.

Bastia was the capital of Corsica until 1791.

Economy


The census of 1999 gives the figure of 39,016 inhabitants, an increase of .01% since 1990. Ten percent of the population consists of foreigners. The unemployment rate is very high, 20% in 2004.

Monuments and places of interest

  • The Museum of Corsica


Miscellaneous


Famous people

Bastia was the birthplace of:
  • Vincent de Moro Giafferi (1878–1956): lawyer
    Lawyer

    A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an Attorney at law, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice fraud." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice....
    , nicknamed the "Grand Moro"
  • César Campinchi
    César Campinchi

    C?sar Campinchi was a lawyer and France statesman in the beginning of the 20th century.Campinchi was president of the Association g?n?rale des ?tudiants de Paris student organisation, a member of the Radical Socialist Party and deputy for Corsica from 1932 to 1940....
     (1882–1941): lawyer and French politician
  • César Vezzani
    César Vezzani

    C?sar Vezzani was a French/Corsican operatic tenor who became a leading exponent of French grand opera through several decades. ...
     (1888–1951): opera singer
  • John Bernard
    John Bernard

    John Toussaint Bernard was a United States Representative from Minnesota.A native of the France island of Corsica, Bernard was born in 1893 in the town of Bastia....
     (1893–1983): American
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     politician
    Politician

    A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed....
    , representing Minnesota in the House of Representatives
    United States House of Representatives

    The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
  • Angelo Rinaldi
    Angelo Rinaldi

    Angelo Rinaldi is a France writer and literary critic....
     (1940— ): French writer and member of the Académie française
    Académie française

    L'Acad?mie fran?aise, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent France learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Acad?mie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to Louis XIII of France....
  • Yves Simonpaoli, a.k.a. Paoli (1928— ): painter and professor of dentistry
  • Henry Padovani
    Henry Padovani

    Henry Padovani is a Corsican musician, who is noted for having been the original guitarist for The Police. In 1977, he was replaced by Andy Summers....
    , original guitarist of The Police
    The Police

    The Police were an English Power trio Rock music band consisting of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland . The band became globally popular in the late 1970s, playing a style of rock that was influenced by jazz, punk rock and reggae music....
    .


Sister city

Bastia's sister city is Erding
Erding

Erding is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the Erding . It had a population of 34,122 in 2004. It is twinned with Bastia in CorsicaThe original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty....
, in Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....


See also

  • Sporting Club de Bastia
  • Bastia - Poretta Airport


External links

  • (in French)