The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-04-25
EASTERN CORSICA.
pastia to BOnifaziO. The Circuit of
Cape COrsO.

Rastia to BOnlfaZ1O. Inc circuit OF
fro" Cape Corso.
,.oeeal Correspondence of The Journal
p,xlrAzIo, Corsica, March 10, 1901.
- rivalry that used to exist between
~ pauI and Minneapolis, Chicago and
oujs Omaha and Council Bluffs,
as nothing compared to that which
mare than a century has ragged be-
yam Bastia in northeastern Corsica
Aiaceio, midway on the western
,t In other countries time decides
.s..e strifes, and when one city has in
,.Mtlbly forged ahead, the other good
,r,4dly gives up its claim. But never
corsica, where grudges always grow
ragIltude. Nowhere else would it
,msdered sufficient cause for a
s.Ja duel if two men from the rival
;s.s hqnpened to meet on the highway
an. 5t the other is likely to be killed:
,,thtH the relatives of the murdered
~,s5rt IN honor bound to take up the
..l ami 10th families are involved in
,rq4.ess vendetta.
rIs5'I on the northeastern coast, just
,sm, -4r long and narrow peninsula
t,.1f $ ape Corso-is still the largest
,,3 H.-t important town in Corsica,
amsa 1o longer its capital. Early as
d..u century the Genoese made it
IL. SEAT Of government; and so it re-
-.n.u until 1897, when French rule
nUeu tie island into two departments,
orasd t,rI the two principal rivers,
iii, nl.u and Liamone. Even then
m,1a .tnained the capital of Colo,
I'll, most important department;-but
abs FOL a few years, when these di-
rgnls were abolished and Ajaccio, the
smaller own. became the permanent
ssgt of government. The truth is that
murIt got some ages ahead of the
French in dividing Corsica. The great
nHataH range did the business for all
zine. ard the people of the north are as
-rIse those of the south as the nations
dat ave on either side of the Pyrenees.
Wife utilization and agriculture are
considerably advanced in the northern
.at Of Corsica, its southern portion is
uuh wilder of aspect, altogether I'M
auvi,ed. and it's people not many de-
.-+e, from barbarism.
T.le stranger, approaching by sea
r.,.W nuts her "best foot foremost,
and poses as a much more important
yaee than she really is. From the port
utN.aIe city is in evidence at a glance,
al tie streets making rapid descent
from nigh, horse shoe ridges to the
sU. o the left of the Gala, or landing
1ae- quay runs out into long mole,
.Wei ly lighthouse. To the right, the
,aa haIbOr is closed by an enormous
ms lack as ink, called Leone the
crowned by dismal citadel and
Keep. When the Genoese gov
FIJI ouellino, built those fortifca-
-u5 -, Bastia was then gray with
and so the settlement that quickly
IF. ap around the citadel was named
II NuOva new town, to distinguish
r irW the ancient town along the
e~pl The latter is known as Terra
3s III old town. and its toWer-shap-
- Hlr~S. often seven stories high,
-l close together and broken out
a. 0.. with balconies. seem to stand
l .0 H one another as they mount
'e Their appearance was accu-
-scribed by an English visitor
Us ..JWed, like so many bones, by the
N logs of time" Black with an
~ and grimy bas-reliefs, they are
,e an Italian-they are medieval,
@ nj them dating back to the earli-
81 ,euod of Genoese occupancy. Yet
. --rJt Years this oldest town has be-
l0- he most modern of the two, hav-
ef." best streets, the public buildings,
g 81 the business there is. Bastia.
J know. is the commercial metropo-
Is Of orsica, and has considerable
.ate IN olive-oil crude wines, asbetos,
f-sC-d cedrats in the form of candied
ae and few other articles, which are
l0,ty described by France. Its Via
IayfrSa is one of the handsomest
s!re- il the island, following the curve
Tie shore and built up with compar-
al7eiy modern edifices. Among the
#t-r is the Palace of Justice, sur
nded by arcades of pillars in beauti-
i blue marble, quarried near Corte
ouj their effect is ruined by great
zeal nt lady painted imitation of the
same MARBLE! all over the building
ali necessary DETACHMENT, when the
Whole island is so rich in the finest mar
oeS aIabaster, porphyry, serpentine and
salte, all scarcely used, because the
people are too lazy to quarry it. Yet
aAo viii believe it?-the whole town of
5aStla is paved with marble, a reddish
Stone Of extraordinary beauty, which is
sald to make the most durable pavement
4t1e world. The cathedral, also in the
IA lraversa, is finely decorated inside;
o1' externally is simply an eye-sore.
fFfraps the greatest interest of the