Cargèse
Encyclopedia
Cargèse is a village and commune
in the Corse-du-Sud
department of France
on the west coast of the island of Corsica
, 27 km north of Ajaccio
. In the 2007 census the commune had a population of 1,154.
The village was established at the end of the 18th century by the descendents of a group of immigrants from the Mani Peninsula
of the Greek Peloponnese
who had first settled in Corsica in the 17th century. The economy of the village is now based around tourism. Cargèse is noted for having two churches that face one another across a small valley overlooking the harbour and the sea. One was built by the descendents of the Greek immigrants and the other by native Corsicans.
of the Greek Peloponnese
. This was mainly driven by the wish to escape from the control of the Ottoman
Turks but was also prompted by the lack of arable land and by the intense feuding between different clans.
In 1669 the Ottomans captured Crete
, and then a year later in 1670, as part of a strategy to strengthen their control over the inner Mani, they built the fortress of Kelefa
on the western side of the Mani peninsular. A number of the inhabitants of the small town of Oitylo
(or Vitylo), which lay just 1.5 km west of the fortress, wished to emigrate to avoid the taxation imposed by the Ottomans and negotiated with the Republic of Genoa
, which then controlled Corsica, for permission to settle on the island. The Republic offered them a choice of three locations in the Province of Vico
and in October 1675 a group of 730 colonists departed from Oitylo and after a short stay in Genoa arrived in Corsica on March 14, 1676. They settled in Paomia, the site of several abandoned hamlets, which is situated 4 km east of the present village of Cargèse at around 450 m in altitude on a hillside overlooking the Gulf of Sagone. The location has similarities to that of Oitylo which also overlooks the sea. The settlers agreed to pledge loyalty to Genoa and to recognise the spiritual authority of the Pope but were allowed to retain the Greek rite
as prescribed by the Holy See
in Rome.
The colonists prospered and reestablished the five hamlets of Pancone, Corone, Rondolino, Salici and Monte-Rosso, all within a kilometre of one another. They built (or restored) seven small churches in the different hamlets and a monastery lower down the hillside at Salici next to an abandoned church dedicated to Saint Martin. The main church in Rondolino was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. The large number of churches is probably a reflection of the high proportion of clerics among the colonists. Of the 520 inhabitants listed in July 1676, there were 11 monks, 5 priests, several nuns and a bishop.
The local Corsicans resented the Greek colonists occupying land that they considered to be rightfully theirs and this led to disputes between the two communities. In 1715 an armed gang from Vico attacked the colonists but was eventually beaten off. In 1729, in the island-wide uprising of the Corsicans against the Genoese Republic, the Greeks remained loyal to the Genoese cause and as a result, their hamlets were repeatedly attacked. Finally in April 1731, 55 years after their arrival, the Greek colonists were forced to abandon Paomia and seek refuge in Ajaccio.
, Minorca
and Florida
(New Smyrna). The census of 1773 showed that the Greek population of the town had dropped to 428. The situation changed with the Treaty of Versaille
in 1768 when the French gained control of the island and the governor, the Comte de Marbeuf
, took a personal interest in the Greek colonists.
In 1789 and in 1791, with the breakdown in civil order resulting from the French Revolution
, Cargèse was subject to a series of attacks by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. On each occasion the attackers were driven off but a number of families chose to return to Ajaccio to escape the violence. By 1792 24 families had moved back to Ajaccio, selling their properties in Cargèse to Corsicans. Thus, from early in its history there were both Greek and Corsican communities in the village.
Britain took control of Corsica in 1794 with Gilbert Elliot
acting as viceroy
during the short-lived Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
. Elliot visited Cargèse in 1795 and recorded his experiences in his journal. At the time the village had population of around 500 people divided into 114 families. The British withdrew from the island in the October of the following year, and almost immediately the inhabitants of Vico, Appriciani, Balogna, Letia and Renno attacked Cargèse. Much of the village was destroyed including Marbeuf’s own house. The inhabitants were forced to flee to Ajaccio where they stayed for three months before returning when French forces had reestablished order.
The village was threatened on two further occasions. In 1814, with the collapse of the First French Empire
, the threat of violence forced the inhabitants of Cargèse to surrender some of their farmland to the surrounding hamlets. The final incident occurred in 1830 at the time of the overthrow of Charles X
and the Bourbon monarchy
in the July Revolution
. Neighbouring villagers again threatened to attack Cargèse but the arrival of a detachment of soldiers from Ajaccio prevented serious bloodshed.
A substantial proportion of the Greek speaking inhabitants of the village emigrated to Sidi Merouane
in Algeria
between 1874 and 1876. Of the total population of 1078 in 1872, it is estimated that 235 emigrated, all of them Greek speakers. The large drop in the Greek population was compensated by an influx of Corsicans making the remaining Greek speakers very much a minority.
In the 20th century the number of Greek speakers rapidly declined and by 1934 there were only 20 Greek speakers in the village. The last native speaker died in 1976, 300 years after the colonists had first arrived on the island. The historian Nick Nicholas has argued that the exceptionally long time that the colonists took to assimilate was a result of several factors including the substantial size of the colony, the large religious presence and the strong antagonism felt between the Corsicans and the settlers.
The census of 1896 recorded 1216 inhabitants but in the first half of the 20th century many young people left the village to find employment in continental France. By 1962 the population had dropped to 665. Since then the expansion of tourism has provided more employment and the population has increased reaching 1154 in 2007.
The large scale emigration from rural communities was a general phenomenon for most of Corsica in the 20th century. For villages away from the coast that have not witnessed the development of tourism, the effects were severe. For example, Evisa
(situated 21 km NE of Cargese as the crow flies) had a population of 1089 in 1886, 401 in 1962 and 189 in 2007.
. From 1964 until 2005, Monseigneur Florent Marchiano conducted services in the two churches on alternate Sundays. On his retirement he was not replaced and instead each Sunday a priest from Vico
comes to the village to conduct mass in the Latin church. A priest based in Athens
, Archimandrite
Armaos Athanasios, visits Cargèse several times a year to conduct services in the Greek church.
decoration was executed in 1928-1930 by the Russian painter Nicolas Ivanoff, a resident of Cargèse. The nave was decorated by Edmond Rocchiccioli between 1970 and 1975 while the choir was decorated between 1992 and 1997 by Russian artists Anastassiya Sokolova and Valeri Tchernoritski.
In 1999-2000 the church was completely restored in a project jointly financed by the Assemblée Régionale Corse, the Conseil Général de la Corse du Sud and the Commune of Cargèse.
The building consists of a barrel-vaulted nave with two semicircular side chapels. The choir is separated from the nave by steps and the communion table. The square bell tower on the north side of the church is capped by an octagonal lantern. The three bells date from 1887.
Above the entrance door is a 17th century painting attributed to the School of Bologna
. This work originally formed part of the collection of Cardinal Fesch
and is one of four paintings given to Cargèse by the town of Ajaccio in 1865. Each of the churches now houses two of the paintings. The stained-glass window above the main entrance representing the Immaculate Conception
was installed in 2000.
visited Cargèse in 1868 and noted "the large building which is so conspicuous in all the views of Carghèsè, and which they tell me is the new Greek church; it is a mere shell, standing unfinished for lack of funds". The church was finally completed in 1876. The iconostasis
, the wooden partition separating the nave from the sanctuary, had been designed in 1881 for the Basilian monastery
of Santa Maria in Grottaferrata
near Rome but a liturgical argument prevented it from being installed and in 1886 it was offered instead to the Greek church in Cargèse.
As in the Latin church, the trompe l'oeil
decoration was executed in 1928-1930 by the Russian painter Nicolas Ivanoff. The frescos were the result of an initiative of Florent Marchiano, who served as the priest of the two churches from 1964 till his retirement in 2005. They were painted by a number of different artists beginning in 1987. The final four were completed in 2001: the Last Judgement on the right of the entrance, the prophet Isaiah
on the left of the entrance, three recent priests (Marchiano, Chappet, and Coti) climbing stairs, and finally a large fresco at the back of the church symbolising the history of the colony (the departure from Vitylo in 1675, seeking refuge in Ajaccio in 1731 and arriving in Cargèse in 1775).
The church contains four icons that were brought to Corsica with the colonists in 1676.
of Cargèse is on the western coast of Corsica, 25 km 'as the crow flies' north of Ajaccio
but 50 km by road. The countryside consists of small mountains whose highest peak is Capu di Bagliu (701 m). There are two plains that are each crossed by small rivers, the Esigna and the Chiuni. To the north east is a wooded area, the forest of Esigna. The ragged coastline has three granite headlands each dominated by a Genoese tower
: the Punta d’Orchinu, the Punta d’Ormigna and the Punta di Cargèse.
The coast has five beaches that are from north to south:
The village of Cargèse is located on the Punta di Cargèse, a promontory that forms the northern limit of the Gulf of Sagone. The village sits nearly 100 m above the sea and has impressive views. The commune includes the hamlets of Frimicaghiola, Marchese, Menasina, Lozzi and Chiuni. Apart from the village with its old houses, the coastline is dotted with recent buildings which are used for summer tourism (summer camp and rental accommodation).
Cargèse is served by the road (D81) that connects Mezzavia (Ajaccio) to Calvi. The nearest villages along this road are Piana (19 km) to the north and Sagone
(13 km) to the south. There is also a small road (D181) from the village that passes through Paomia and joins the main road linking Sagone with Vico (D70).
Autocars Ile de Beauté (S.A.S.A.I.B.) operate a bus service running between Ajaccio and Ota
that stops in Cargèse. Each day there are two buses in each direction except on Sundays and bank holidays when no buses operate. The journey from Cargèse to Ajaccio takes around one hour.
with warm dry summers and cool wet winters. August is the hottest month with an average maximum temperature of 28 °C and minimum of 16 °C. January is the coldest month with average maximum of 13 °C and minimum of 3 °C. The wettest months are November and December. Very little rainfall occurs in June, July and August.
Only a few people in the commune earn a living from agriculture. In 2000 the French government recorded 22 agricultural workers with just 12 working full time. Only 15 ha was used for vines, fruit and olives. The remaining 1137 ha was used for grazing, mostly cattle, with smaller numbers of sheep and goats. The transhumance
is still practised: animals are moved up to the mountains in May to graze at high altitude during the dry summer months and brought back in October to pastures near the village where they spend the winter. While in the past the animals would have walked they are now taken by truck.
There are half a dozen small fishing boats that operate from Cargèse. Each boat has a crew of two or three and is equipped with a motor driven wheel, usually at the bow, for hauling in the trammel nets. The main target species is the red spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas
, langouste in French) which can only be legally fished between 1 March and the 30th September. In the past lobster pots were used but these have generally been superseded by nets. The catch is generally small and most is sold locally.
A scientific conference centre, the Institut d'Études Scientifiques de Cargèse, is located near the coast about 1.5 km east of the village. It was established in 1975 and initially hosted conferences on theoretical physics. Since 1996 it has been run by the CNRS, the government financed scientific research organization. The centre hosts around 30 week-long conferences each year on a wide range of topics. The centre has a maximum capacity of 100 people but as there is only limited accommodation within the conference complex, most attendees rent rooms or stay in hotels in the village.
There is a state primary school, an école élémentaire, in the village for children up to age 11 (Groupe Scolaire, Rue du Colonel Fieschi). Older children are bussed to the Collège Camille Borossi in Vico, a distance of 27 km.
The marina is accessible either by road or by a steep path that runs between the two churches and then alongside the cemetery. The harbour is protected by a jetty running 200 m in a north-easterly direction and can accommodate 235 boats with a maximum length of 16 m. There are 35 places allocated for visitors. The depth at the entrance is 5 m but this reduces to only 2.5 m within the harbour. Fuel, fresh water and mains power are available. There are three restaurants on the quayside but no shops. Provisions are available from a supermarket near the Place Saint-Jean 100 m above the port at the top of the town. In good weather vessels can anchor east of the harbour entrance in water with a minimum depth of 6 m.
s that were built between 1605 and 1606:
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud is a French département composed of the southern part of the island of Corsica.- History :The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the Corse department was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud...
department of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on the west coast of the island of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, 27 km north of Ajaccio
Ajaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
. In the 2007 census the commune had a population of 1,154.
The village was established at the end of the 18th century by the descendents of a group of immigrants from the Mani Peninsula
Mani Peninsula
The Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a geographical and cultural region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...
of the Greek Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
who had first settled in Corsica in the 17th century. The economy of the village is now based around tourism. Cargèse is noted for having two churches that face one another across a small valley overlooking the harbour and the sea. One was built by the descendents of the Greek immigrants and the other by native Corsicans.
Paomia 1676 to 1731
The second half of the 17th century witnesses a substantial emigration from the Mani PeninsulaMani Peninsula
The Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a geographical and cultural region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...
of the Greek Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
. This was mainly driven by the wish to escape from the control of the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Turks but was also prompted by the lack of arable land and by the intense feuding between different clans.
In 1669 the Ottomans captured Crete
Cretan War (1645–1669)
The Cretan War or War of Candia , as the Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War is better known, was a conflict between the Republic of Venice and her allies against the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States, fought over the island of Crete, Venice's largest and richest overseas possession...
, and then a year later in 1670, as part of a strategy to strengthen their control over the inner Mani, they built the fortress of Kelefa
Kelefa
Kelefa is a castle and village in Mani, Laconia, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Oitylo.-History:Kelefa was built by the Ottomans to contain the Inner Mani in 1670. 15 years later in 1685, the Maniots besieged the castle. They sent messengers to Venice so the Doge could send a fleet to...
on the western side of the Mani peninsular. A number of the inhabitants of the small town of Oitylo
Oitylo
Oitylo is a village and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality East Mani, of which it is a municipal unit. It is one of the oldest towns in the Mani Peninsula. It was mentioned in the Iliad by Homer as Oetylοs ,...
(or Vitylo), which lay just 1.5 km west of the fortress, wished to emigrate to avoid the taxation imposed by the Ottomans and negotiated with the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
, which then controlled Corsica, for permission to settle on the island. The Republic offered them a choice of three locations in the Province of Vico
Vico, Corse-du-Sud
Vico is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-References:*...
and in October 1675 a group of 730 colonists departed from Oitylo and after a short stay in Genoa arrived in Corsica on March 14, 1676. They settled in Paomia, the site of several abandoned hamlets, which is situated 4 km east of the present village of Cargèse at around 450 m in altitude on a hillside overlooking the Gulf of Sagone. The location has similarities to that of Oitylo which also overlooks the sea. The settlers agreed to pledge loyalty to Genoa and to recognise the spiritual authority of the Pope but were allowed to retain the Greek rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
as prescribed by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in Rome.
The colonists prospered and reestablished the five hamlets of Pancone, Corone, Rondolino, Salici and Monte-Rosso, all within a kilometre of one another. They built (or restored) seven small churches in the different hamlets and a monastery lower down the hillside at Salici next to an abandoned church dedicated to Saint Martin. The main church in Rondolino was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. The large number of churches is probably a reflection of the high proportion of clerics among the colonists. Of the 520 inhabitants listed in July 1676, there were 11 monks, 5 priests, several nuns and a bishop.
The local Corsicans resented the Greek colonists occupying land that they considered to be rightfully theirs and this led to disputes between the two communities. In 1715 an armed gang from Vico attacked the colonists but was eventually beaten off. In 1729, in the island-wide uprising of the Corsicans against the Genoese Republic, the Greeks remained loyal to the Genoese cause and as a result, their hamlets were repeatedly attacked. Finally in April 1731, 55 years after their arrival, the Greek colonists were forced to abandon Paomia and seek refuge in Ajaccio.
Ajaccio 1731 to 1775
The 700 Greeks who took refuge in Ajaccio formed around 20% of the inhabitants of the town (3200 in 1731). They were offered the use of the church of La Madonna del Carmine which is still known as the Chapelle des Grecs. The Genoese employed 200 of the Greek men as guards to defend the town. The colonists were far less isolated than they had been in Paomia and there was some intermarriage and many of the men learnt to speak Corsican. Nevertheless, there was ongoing violence between the two communities and the Greeks found it expedient to abandon their traditional dress. The Genoese Republic had increasing financial problems and had difficulty maintaining law and order on the island. The Greek guards were no longer paid after 1744 and in 1752 the companies were disbanded. The lack of Genoese protection made life very difficult for the colonists, particularly after 1745, and a number of groups chose to emigrate to SardiniaSardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(New Smyrna). The census of 1773 showed that the Greek population of the town had dropped to 428. The situation changed with the Treaty of Versaille
Treaty of Versailles (1768)
The Treaty of Versailles was concluded on May 15, 1768 at Versailles between the Republic of Genoa and France. Genoa put Corsica in pledge to France.Corsica had been ruled by Genoa since 1284. In the 18th century Corsicans started to seek their independence...
in 1768 when the French gained control of the island and the governor, the Comte de Marbeuf
Charles Louis de Marbeuf
Louis Charles René, comte de Marbeuf , grand-cross of the order of Saint Louis, was a French general.-Life:...
, took a personal interest in the Greek colonists.
Cargèse 1775 to the present day
Marbeuf arranged for the construction of the village of Cargèse on the Puntiglione headland that separates the Gulf of Sagone from the smaller Gulf of Peru. Around 120 terraced houses were built, all paid for by the French crown. In 1775, under the leadership of George-Marie Stephanopoli, most of the Greek colonists moved from Ajaccio to the new village so that by 1784 there were 386 Greeks in Cargèse. Marbeuf had a large house with a garden built for himself on the west side of the village.In 1789 and in 1791, with the breakdown in civil order resulting from the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, Cargèse was subject to a series of attacks by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. On each occasion the attackers were driven off but a number of families chose to return to Ajaccio to escape the violence. By 1792 24 families had moved back to Ajaccio, selling their properties in Cargèse to Corsicans. Thus, from early in its history there were both Greek and Corsican communities in the village.
Britain took control of Corsica in 1794 with Gilbert Elliot
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto PC , known as Sir Gilbert Elliott between 1777 and 1797 and as The Lord Minto between 1797 and 1813, was a Scottish politician diplomat....
acting as viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
during the short-lived Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was a short-lived self-declared independent state on the island of Corsica during the mid-1790s.-Background and history of the kingdom:During the time of the French Revolution, Corsica had been a part of France for just two decades...
. Elliot visited Cargèse in 1795 and recorded his experiences in his journal. At the time the village had population of around 500 people divided into 114 families. The British withdrew from the island in the October of the following year, and almost immediately the inhabitants of Vico, Appriciani, Balogna, Letia and Renno attacked Cargèse. Much of the village was destroyed including Marbeuf’s own house. The inhabitants were forced to flee to Ajaccio where they stayed for three months before returning when French forces had reestablished order.
The village was threatened on two further occasions. In 1814, with the collapse of the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, the threat of violence forced the inhabitants of Cargèse to surrender some of their farmland to the surrounding hamlets. The final incident occurred in 1830 at the time of the overthrow of Charles X
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
and the Bourbon monarchy
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
in the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
. Neighbouring villagers again threatened to attack Cargèse but the arrival of a detachment of soldiers from Ajaccio prevented serious bloodshed.
A substantial proportion of the Greek speaking inhabitants of the village emigrated to Sidi Merouane
Sidi Merouane
Sidi Merouane is a town and commune in Mila Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 20,018.-References:...
in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
between 1874 and 1876. Of the total population of 1078 in 1872, it is estimated that 235 emigrated, all of them Greek speakers. The large drop in the Greek population was compensated by an influx of Corsicans making the remaining Greek speakers very much a minority.
In the 20th century the number of Greek speakers rapidly declined and by 1934 there were only 20 Greek speakers in the village. The last native speaker died in 1976, 300 years after the colonists had first arrived on the island. The historian Nick Nicholas has argued that the exceptionally long time that the colonists took to assimilate was a result of several factors including the substantial size of the colony, the large religious presence and the strong antagonism felt between the Corsicans and the settlers.
The census of 1896 recorded 1216 inhabitants but in the first half of the 20th century many young people left the village to find employment in continental France. By 1962 the population had dropped to 665. Since then the expansion of tourism has provided more employment and the population has increased reaching 1154 in 2007.
The large scale emigration from rural communities was a general phenomenon for most of Corsica in the 20th century. For villages away from the coast that have not witnessed the development of tourism, the effects were severe. For example, Evisa
Evisa
Evisa is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.-Species:* Evisa reisseri Wiltshire, 1952* Evisa schawerdae Reisser, 1930-References:**...
(situated 21 km NE of Cargese as the crow flies) had a population of 1089 in 1886, 401 in 1962 and 189 in 2007.
Population
Churches
The village contains two 19th century Catholic churches that face one another across a small valley overlooking the sea. The church on the east side was built by native Corsicans and descendents of the Greek colonists who had adopted the Latin rite. The church on the west side, the Greek church, was built by the descendants of the Greek colonists who had retained the use of the Greek riteByzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
. From 1964 until 2005, Monseigneur Florent Marchiano conducted services in the two churches on alternate Sundays. On his retirement he was not replaced and instead each Sunday a priest from Vico
Vico, Corse-du-Sud
Vico is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-References:*...
comes to the village to conduct mass in the Latin church. A priest based in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Armaos Athanasios, visits Cargèse several times a year to conduct services in the Greek church.
Latin church of the Assumption
The Latin church was the first to be built. Construction began in 1825 but was held up because of the lack of finance. A total of 14 requests were made to the French government for assistance before the church was completed 1850. The trompe l'oeilTrompe l'oeil
Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...
decoration was executed in 1928-1930 by the Russian painter Nicolas Ivanoff, a resident of Cargèse. The nave was decorated by Edmond Rocchiccioli between 1970 and 1975 while the choir was decorated between 1992 and 1997 by Russian artists Anastassiya Sokolova and Valeri Tchernoritski.
In 1999-2000 the church was completely restored in a project jointly financed by the Assemblée Régionale Corse, the Conseil Général de la Corse du Sud and the Commune of Cargèse.
The building consists of a barrel-vaulted nave with two semicircular side chapels. The choir is separated from the nave by steps and the communion table. The square bell tower on the north side of the church is capped by an octagonal lantern. The three bells date from 1887.
Above the entrance door is a 17th century painting attributed to the School of Bologna
Bolognese School (painting)
The Bolognese School or the School of Bologna of painting flourished in Bologna, the capital of Emilia Romagna, between the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, and rivalled Florence and Rome as the center of painting. Its most important representatives include the Carracci family, including Ludovico...
. This work originally formed part of the collection of Cardinal Fesch
Joseph Fesch
Joseph Fesch was a French cardinal, closely associated with the family of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was also one of the most famous art collectors of his period.-Biography:Fesch was born at Ajaccio in Corsica...
and is one of four paintings given to Cargèse by the town of Ajaccio in 1865. Each of the churches now houses two of the paintings. The stained-glass window above the main entrance representing the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
was installed in 2000.
Greek church of Saint Spyridon
The Greek church is on the west side of the little valley of Murgana. Construction of the church began in 1852 but progress was slow. Edward LearEdward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
visited Cargèse in 1868 and noted "the large building which is so conspicuous in all the views of Carghèsè, and which they tell me is the new Greek church; it is a mere shell, standing unfinished for lack of funds". The church was finally completed in 1876. The iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
, the wooden partition separating the nave from the sanctuary, had been designed in 1881 for the Basilian monastery
Basilian monk
Basilian monks are monks who follow the "Rule" of Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. The chief importance of the monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil lies in the fact that to this day his reconstruction of the monastic life is the basis of most of the monasticism practiced in the...
of Santa Maria in Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata, Italy is a small town and comune in the province of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, 20 km south east of Rome. It is bounded by other communes, Frascati, Rocca di Papa, Marino, and Rome.-History:...
near Rome but a liturgical argument prevented it from being installed and in 1886 it was offered instead to the Greek church in Cargèse.
As in the Latin church, the trompe l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil
Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...
decoration was executed in 1928-1930 by the Russian painter Nicolas Ivanoff. The frescos were the result of an initiative of Florent Marchiano, who served as the priest of the two churches from 1964 till his retirement in 2005. They were painted by a number of different artists beginning in 1987. The final four were completed in 2001: the Last Judgement on the right of the entrance, the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
on the left of the entrance, three recent priests (Marchiano, Chappet, and Coti) climbing stairs, and finally a large fresco at the back of the church symbolising the history of the colony (the departure from Vitylo in 1675, seeking refuge in Ajaccio in 1731 and arriving in Cargèse in 1775).
The church contains four icons that were brought to Corsica with the colonists in 1676.
- hanging high up on the right hand side of the church near the iconostasis is the icon of the Three Holy HierarchsThree Holy HierarchsThe Three Holy Hierarchs of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great , Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. They were highly influential bishops of the early church who played pivotal roles in shaping Christian theology...
: Basil of CaesareaBasil of CaesareaBasil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great, was the bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor . He was an influential 4th century Christian theologian...
, Gregory of NazianzusGregory of NazianzusGregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age...
and John ChrysostomJohn ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
. The painting is in egg tempera on a wooden panel. It dates from the last quarter of the 17th century. - high on the left hand side is an icon of John the BaptistJohn the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
with the wings of an angel. He is dressed in animal skins and has a cross and a scroll in his right hand. The haloed head at his feet foreshadows his beheading. The painting dates from the last quarter of the 17th century and is in egg tempera on a wooden panel. An inscription in Greek gives the artist as Simeon Palaiologos, a monk from Mount AthosMount AthosMount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
. - above the entrance door hangs an EpitaphiosEpitaphios (liturgical)The Epitaphios is an icon, today most often found as a large cloth, embroidered and often richly adorned, which is used during the services of Great Friday and Great Saturday in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow...
, a picture of Christ being placed in his tomb, shown in bas-relief on painted wood. The three figures are Christ's mother Mary, NicodemusNicodemusSaint Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus...
and Joseph of ArimatheaJoseph of ArimatheaJoseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
. - behind the iconostasis is an icon of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms surrounded by golden clouds with angels and cherubs. At the bottom of the picture are Saint Spyridion and Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
. This fourth icon is paraded through the village on feast days.
Geography
The communeCommunes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Cargèse is on the western coast of Corsica, 25 km 'as the crow flies' north of Ajaccio
Ajaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
but 50 km by road. The countryside consists of small mountains whose highest peak is Capu di Bagliu (701 m). There are two plains that are each crossed by small rivers, the Esigna and the Chiuni. To the north east is a wooded area, the forest of Esigna. The ragged coastline has three granite headlands each dominated by a Genoese tower
Genoese tower
The Genoese towers are vestiges of the Genoese heritage after their occupation of Corsica.The Corsican littoral is constellated with these towers , which are now one of the symbols of the island. Although all of them don’t have a Genoese origin — some of them are Florentine — they are generally...
: the Punta d’Orchinu, the Punta d’Ormigna and the Punta di Cargèse.
The coast has five beaches that are from north to south:
- - Chiuni beach is 7 km by road from the village and site of the Club Méditerranée holiday resort. The beach is bounded on the northern end by mouth of the Chiesaccia and Chiuni rivers. A small tributary of the Chuni river, the Truscielli, marks part of the boundary of the commune of Cargèse with that of PianaPianaPiana is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-See also:*Communes of the Corse-du-Sud department* Calanques de Piana, UNESCO World Heritage Site* Torra di Turghju-References:*...
. - - Peru beach lies just to the north of the village. At the northern end of the beach is the mouth of the Esigna, a small river that flows during the winter months. The beach is patrolled by life-guards during the summer tourist season.
- - Menasina beach is 3 km east of the village.
- - Capizollu beach is between the Punta di Molendinu and the Pointe des Moines. This is believed to be where the Greek colonists came ashore in 1676 on their way to Paomia.
- - Stagnoli beach is 6.8 km by road south of the village and the site of a UCPAUCPAUCPA is a non-profit French organization that makes outdoor sports holidays available for people of ages 7–39. Formed in 1965, it is a union of government bodies, sports federations and youth associations...
water-sports centre. The small Bubia river flows into the sea at this point and marks the boundary of the commune of Cargèse with that of VicoVico, Corse-du-SudVico is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-References:*...
.
The village of Cargèse is located on the Punta di Cargèse, a promontory that forms the northern limit of the Gulf of Sagone. The village sits nearly 100 m above the sea and has impressive views. The commune includes the hamlets of Frimicaghiola, Marchese, Menasina, Lozzi and Chiuni. Apart from the village with its old houses, the coastline is dotted with recent buildings which are used for summer tourism (summer camp and rental accommodation).
Cargèse is served by the road (D81) that connects Mezzavia (Ajaccio) to Calvi. The nearest villages along this road are Piana (19 km) to the north and Sagone
Sagone
Sagone is a village on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. It is situated on the south coast of the island in the traditional district of Salega which falls within the larger political district of Satupa'itea.The population is 732 ....
(13 km) to the south. There is also a small road (D181) from the village that passes through Paomia and joins the main road linking Sagone with Vico (D70).
Autocars Ile de Beauté (S.A.S.A.I.B.) operate a bus service running between Ajaccio and Ota
Ota, Corse-du-Sud
Ota is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-Sights:*Spelonca bridge*Torra di Portu-References:*...
that stops in Cargèse. Each day there are two buses in each direction except on Sundays and bank holidays when no buses operate. The journey from Cargèse to Ajaccio takes around one hour.
Climate
The climate is typically MediterraneanMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
with warm dry summers and cool wet winters. August is the hottest month with an average maximum temperature of 28 °C and minimum of 16 °C. January is the coldest month with average maximum of 13 °C and minimum of 3 °C. The wettest months are November and December. Very little rainfall occurs in June, July and August.
Economy
Many people in the commune derive their income from tourism especially during the summer months. In 2010 there were 8 small hotels with a total of 123 bedrooms. Of the hotels, one was classified as providing three star accommodation (Les Lentisques), 5 had two stars, one had one star and one was unclassified. There is also a campsite (Camping Torraccia) 4 km north of the village with 120 pitches. Many tourists rent accommodation. The 2007 census recorded 1368 dwelling of which 522 were main residences while 821 were second homes or holiday accommodation. There has been a very substantial increase in all types of housing in the commune – the census of 1968 recorded 254 main residences and only 12 second homes or holiday homes.Only a few people in the commune earn a living from agriculture. In 2000 the French government recorded 22 agricultural workers with just 12 working full time. Only 15 ha was used for vines, fruit and olives. The remaining 1137 ha was used for grazing, mostly cattle, with smaller numbers of sheep and goats. The transhumance
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
is still practised: animals are moved up to the mountains in May to graze at high altitude during the dry summer months and brought back in October to pastures near the village where they spend the winter. While in the past the animals would have walked they are now taken by truck.
There are half a dozen small fishing boats that operate from Cargèse. Each boat has a crew of two or three and is equipped with a motor driven wheel, usually at the bow, for hauling in the trammel nets. The main target species is the red spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas
Palinurus elephas
Palinurus elephas is a spiny lobster, which is commonly caught in the Mediterranean Sea. Its common names include European spiny lobster, crayfish or cray , common spiny lobster, Mediterranean lobster and red lobster....
, langouste in French) which can only be legally fished between 1 March and the 30th September. In the past lobster pots were used but these have generally been superseded by nets. The catch is generally small and most is sold locally.
A scientific conference centre, the Institut d'Études Scientifiques de Cargèse, is located near the coast about 1.5 km east of the village. It was established in 1975 and initially hosted conferences on theoretical physics. Since 1996 it has been run by the CNRS, the government financed scientific research organization. The centre hosts around 30 week-long conferences each year on a wide range of topics. The centre has a maximum capacity of 100 people but as there is only limited accommodation within the conference complex, most attendees rent rooms or stay in hotels in the village.
There is a state primary school, an école élémentaire, in the village for children up to age 11 (Groupe Scolaire, Rue du Colonel Fieschi). Older children are bussed to the Collège Camille Borossi in Vico, a distance of 27 km.
Marina
Until the 1970s fishing boats would moor off a small protected beach to the south of the village. In the winter the boats would be hauled up onto the beach with a windlass. The whole area has now been developed into a marina.The marina is accessible either by road or by a steep path that runs between the two churches and then alongside the cemetery. The harbour is protected by a jetty running 200 m in a north-easterly direction and can accommodate 235 boats with a maximum length of 16 m. There are 35 places allocated for visitors. The depth at the entrance is 5 m but this reduces to only 2.5 m within the harbour. Fuel, fresh water and mains power are available. There are three restaurants on the quayside but no shops. Provisions are available from a supermarket near the Place Saint-Jean 100 m above the port at the top of the town. In good weather vessels can anchor east of the harbour entrance in water with a minimum depth of 6 m.
Three towers
In the commune of Cargèse are three Genoese towerGenoese tower
The Genoese towers are vestiges of the Genoese heritage after their occupation of Corsica.The Corsican littoral is constellated with these towers , which are now one of the symbols of the island. Although all of them don’t have a Genoese origin — some of them are Florentine — they are generally...
s that were built between 1605 and 1606:
- Torra di CarghjesiTorra di CarghjesiThe Torra di Carghjesi is a Genoese tower in Corsica, located in the commune of Cargèse.It is one of the Official Historical Monuments of France.-Notes and references:...
, near the village, on the Punta di Cargèse - Torra d'OmignaTorra d'OmignaThe Torra d'Omigna is a Genoese tower in Corsica, located in the commune of Cargèse .The tower of Omigna was one of a series of coastal defences built by the Republic of Genoa between 1551 and 1611 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates. The Omigna tower was built between 1605 and 1606 under...
, to the north of the village, on the Punta d'Omigna - Torra d'OrchinuTorra d'OrchinuThe Torra d'Orchinu is a Genoese tower in Corsica, located in the commune of Cargèse .It is one of the Official Historical Monuments of France.-Notes and references:...
, to the north of the village, on the Punta d'Orchinu