Places to see in ( Corsica - France ) Cargese
Places to see in ( Corsica - France ) Cargese
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 2012 census the commune had a population of 1,263.
The village was established at the end of the 18th century by the descendants of a group of immigrants from the Mani Peninsula of the Greek Peloponnese who had first settled in Corsica a hundred years earlier. The economy of the village is now based around tourism. Cargèse is noted for having two 19th-century churches that face one another across a small valley overlooking the harbour and the sea. One was built by the descendants of the Greek immigrants and the other by native Corsicans.
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 descendants 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 rite. 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.
The commune of Cargèse is on the west 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 (sometimes referred to as the Punta di u Puntiglione).
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 Chiuni river, the Truscielli, marks part of the boundary of the commune of Cargèse with that of Piana.
- 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 UCPA 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 Vico.
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. The three Genoese towers in the commune were built between 1605 and 1606:
Tour de Cargèse, near the village, on the Punta di Cargèse
Tour d'Omigna, to the north of the village, on the Punta d'Omigna
Tour d'Orchinu, to the north of the village, on the Punta d'Orchinu
( Corsica - France ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Corsica . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Corsica - France
Join us for more :
Capo di Feno, la mer pour les surfeurs ! 2015-08-15. Corse du sud - Gopro
Aujourd'hui mer agitée permettant la pratique du surf à de nombreuses personnes !
Today agitated sea allowing the practice of surfing to many people!