Itinerary through Corsica | Page 9

6 or 5 frs.; and also
to Calvi, 12 hours, 13 or 10 frs.
[Headnote: BRANDO.]
Carriages to visit the stalactite cave at Brando, 10 frs. Admission 2 frs.
each. It is 7 m. from Bastia, above Erbalunga, on the face of a mountain;
and was discovered in 1841 by M. Ferdinandi. A steep path leads up to
it. Keeper near cave. See p. 12.
Bastia, the most important city of Corsica, is built on ground rising

gently from the sea. Facing the sea and the principal harbour is the
Place St. Nicholas, adorned with a marble statue of Napoleon I., by
Bartolini, looking towards the island of Elba. In this "Place", the
promenade of the town, are the offices of the Messageries Maritimes
and of the Compagnie Insulaire. Fraissinet's office is at the old harbour;
whence also their steamers sail.
From the Place St. Nicholas ascends the principal street, the Boulevard
du Palais, to the Palais de Justice. In this Boulevard are the post and
telegraph offices (whence most of the diligences start), the hotels, cafés
and the best shops, and from it ramify the streets of the town. At the top
of the B. du Palais commences, right hand, the Boul. Cardo, one of the
best roads to take for views of the town and neighbourhood. A flight of
steps leads from the quay up to the cathedral, a handsome building in
the Italian style. The markets are held in the "Place" fronting the
cathedral. Most of the houses are built in large blocks from 5 to 6
stories high and from 6 to 9 windows broad, each story forming a
separate residence.
Bastia owes its name to the bastion built here by the Genoese in the
14th century. From the hills behind Bastia the view embraces the
islands of Gorgona, Capraja, Elba, and Monte-Christo, seen best from
the top of the Serra di Pigno, 3640 feet. Refer to map on fly-leaf.
[Headnote: STEAMERS.]
The most beautiful part of Corsica, and the most easily visited, is the
eastern side, including the Castagniccia or the chestnut country, and the
whole region up in the mountains, which border this coast. The
wealthiest, most industrious and most enterprising of the people are
those who inhabit that long narrow tongue of land called Cap Corse.
Although boats are constantly sailing from Marseilles and Leghorn to
Bastia, invalids visiting Corsica with the intention of wintering in
Ajaccio should, if possible, sail from Marseilles or Nice direct to
Ajaccio; but on leaving the island, when winter is over, Bastia is
perhaps the best port to sail from, as it affords an excellent opportunity
for visiting the most beautiful parts of Corsica and the most important
towns in Italy. On arriving at Leghorn (see Black's South France) it is

best to proceed at once to the railway station, and start for Pisa, only 30
minutes distant. There are numerous trains. At the station and in the
kiosques in the "Piazzas" of Leghorn, is sold an excellent little book
with all the railway Time-tables, L'Indicatore Ufficiale, price 50 c.
[Headnote: CAP CORSE.--WINE.]
CAP CORSE.
Bastia to Rogliano and Morsaglia.
See General Map, p. 1.
By diligence, fare to Rogliano, 4 frs. and 3 frs., distance 27½ m., 6 hrs.
To Morsaglia, 5½ and 4½ frs., distance 37½ m., 8 hrs. By the road
skirting the eastern side of the peninsula of Cap Corse, the best
cultivated part of the island, and containing the tidiest villages. The
best Cap Corse wine, mostly white, is produced around Luri and
Rogliano. The quality used as table wine is drunk the first year. It
improves till the fifth year, the better qualities till the tenth and
twentieth year. Cap Corse is traversed by a rugged mountain range or
serra, of which the culminating peaks are Mount Alticcione, 4230 feet;
Mount Stello, 4536 feet; and the Serra de Pigno, 3640 feet. From the
east side of this rugged serra little fertile valleys extend to the sea.
[Headnote: PINO.--LURI.]
Mr. Freshfield thus describes the "Cap":--"Down a promontory 8 to 10
m. wide runs a range 3000 to 4000 ft. high, with the crest towards the
western coast and the valleys towards the eastern. Hence the western
Cornice road is a terrace along an always steep, sometimes sheer,
mountain side, while the eastern crosses a succession of low
maquis-covered spurs, which beyond Cap Sagro flatten and become
monotonous. Pino is one of the most beautiful sites on the western
coast. It is also important as the spot where the cross-road through the
vale of Luri, under Seneca's tower, falls into the western Cornice.
Half-way on this road the village of Luri groups itself in the most
picturesque way imaginable on a hill-side broken by a deep ravine.

Down on the seashore above the little Marina or