About Me

Food is one of my many joys in life. It is a common bond I share among my friends and family. Combining food and travel makes it all the more interesting. I enjoy going out for a good meal with friends and family. The array of various cuisines and our fantastic array of produce really makes Sydney such a great city to live in. Blogging is my hobby and my posts on restaurant meals I have had are paid for and not gratis. Any gratis provided to me will always be stated beforehand.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Bonifacio

Our guide for the morning was Pierre. He was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Bonifacio and Corsica per se. Pierre is a local and based on the information he provided I have surmised that Corsica is more Italian than French.

My intention is not to get too heavy into the political history of Corsica but in a nutshell, the Italians ruled Corsica for 600 years and the French rule only started in 1768. So it is quite obvious that there is a lot more Italian influence in Bonifacio than there is the French influence. In fact, the city of Genoa has a strong bond with Bonifacio as the Italians who ruled then were from Genoa. The local dialect in the old town is called Genoese.
The King of Aragon Steps - built in 1 day


The street signs typically have 2 signs per street. The smaller sign is the local dialect. The larger sign is in Italian but pronounced in French. This town is quite fascinating to me. There is so much history here, I see so much of the Italian influence and yet there is a mix of the French too.



Till today, there is a lot of resentment towards France. Corsica is an interesting island rich in history. When the French took over the island, a lot of the autonomy that Corsica was used to were taken away from them. I can see why there is still  a fierce independent spirit in Corsica.


Napoleon Bonaparte's résidence while in Bonifacio
The drawbridge 


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We very much appreciate the time and effort you have given to documenting a thoughtful and concise account of our culinary journey through Sardinia and Corsica.
Thank you CIndy.
Annette & Brian

Edwina said...

Wow Cinds Bonifacio is so beautiful. What an interesting history. I'd love to see it!