Our friends on Aquila had caught us up in Calvi, after an enjoyable week with family on the Cinqueterre coast. We reinstated our tradition of sightseeing combined with gastronomy and hikes with a visit to Corte.
This town is pretty much in the centre of the island. It was, and remains, a centre of Corsican nationalism. There is plenty of graffiti on the subject on its walls, particularly around the University (the only one on Corsica). We went by train from Calvi, but there are lots of works on the line and quite a lot of the trip was by bus instead. Like all travel in France, it adds up in price, as return tickets were over 20EU each. But we saw a good chunk of the island, which is spectacularly beautiful.
Corte is centred around its citadel, which sits imposingly on a jutting granite peak. It is reminiscent of Rocamodor in France but without the pretty pointy towers. We ate an excellent lunch (fish soup, wild boar and so on) but passed on the rather expensive museum which is the only way to visit the citadel itself. Instead we walked the path of the ancient mule track into the valley of the Tavignano river, the route Napoleon's mother took when fleeing French forces while pregnant with the future Emperor. It's a pretty walk, though steep in the afternoon heat (hats off to Mme Bounoparte) , and apparently you can go on for another couple of hours to find bathing pools in the rocks. It sounded lovely - Braemar with hot water and scented maquis - but was further than we had time (or energy) to walk.