Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, consisting of the southern part of the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. The corresponding departmental

territorial collectivity A territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale, previously '), or territorial authority, is a chartered subdivision of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any subdivision (subnational entity) wi ...

merged with that of

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged wi ...

on 1 January 2018, forming the

single territorial collectivity A single territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale unique) is a chartered subdivision of France that exercises the powers of both a region and a department. This subdivision was introduced in Mayotte in 2011, in French Guia ...

of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate council. However, even though its administrative powers were ceded to the new territorial collectivity, it continues to remain an administrative department in its own right. In 2019, it had a population of 158,507.Populations légales 2019: 2A Corse-du-Sud
INSEE

History

Corse-du-Sud department relief location map

The department was formed on 1 January 1976, when the single department of

was divided into

and Corse-du-Sud. Its boundaries corresponded to the former department of

Liamone Liamone was a department of the French island of Corsica between 1793 and 1811. It was located in the southern and western parts of the island, and its capital was Ajaccio. Liamone was created in 1793 by the division of the former department o ...

, which existed from 1793 to 1811. On 6 February 1998, Corse-du-Sud's

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Claude Érignac Claude Jean Pierre Érignac (; 15 December 1937 – 6 February 1998) was a French prefect on the island of Corsica. Érignac was born in Mende, Lozère. In the course of his political career, he had been prefect of several departments and ...

was assassinated in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

. The

Corsican nationalist Corsican nationalism is a nationalist movement in Corsica that advocates more autonomy for the island, if not outright independence from France. Political support The main separatist party, Corsica Libera, achieved 9.85% of votes in the 2 ...

Yvan Colonna Yvan Colonna ( co, Ivanu Colonna, ; 7 April 1960 – 21 March 2022) was a French Corsican nationalist convicted for the assassination in 1998 of the prefect of Corse-du-Sud, Claude Érignac. He was beaten to death in prison by a jihadist inmate ...

was eventually convicted of the crime. On 6 July 2003 a referendum rejected increased autonomy by a small majority, with 50.98 percent voting against and 49.02 percent for. This was a major setback for the French Minister of the Interior,

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization programme. On 1 January 2018, Corse-du-Sud's administrative powers were partly ceded to the new territorial collectivity of Corsica.

Geography

The department is surrounded on three sides by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

and on the north by the department of

. The entire island of Corsica is mountainous with many beautiful beaches.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 3 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The people living in Corse-du-Sud are called ''Suttanacci''.

Politics

The current

of Corse-du-Sud (and also prefect of the collectivity of Corsica) is Amaury de Saint-Quentin, who took office on 7 March 2022.

Current National Assembly representatives

Tourism

The former department enjoys the mild and hot climate of Mediterranean Islands, and therefore attracts a lot of tourists. Its perhaps largest tourist attraction is the city of Bonifacio, part of which is built upon a huge cliff. But inside mountains are beautiful as well, especially the

Aiguilles de Bavella The Aiguilles de Bavella ( co, I Forchi di Bavedda; Needles of Bavella) are rocky spikes of red granite that dominate the hill of the same name on the island of Corsica in France. At 1218 m, the hill connects the to the east coast of Corsica. Thi ...

, some naked, needle-like rocks. File:Ajaccio MN1JPG.jpg,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's birth house in

File:Bunifaziu – seaside.jpg, Bonifacio citadel File:Sartene Vi1aJPG.jpg,

Sartène Sartène (; co, Sartè ; it, Sartena or ) is a commune in the department of Corse-du-Sud on the island of Corsica, France. Its history dates back to medieval times and granite buildings from the early 16th century still line some of the ...

File:Corse_Ota_pont_genois_Pianella.jpg, Stone bridge near

Ota OTA or ota may stand for: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Off the Air'', an Adult Swim television series * Otakon, an annual anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland Electronics, science, and technology * Ochratoxin A (also termed OTA), a mycoto ...

File:04_Calanche_Piana.jpg, Calanques of Piana

Notes

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corse-Du-Sud 1976 establishments in France Departments of Corsica Corsica region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia States and territories established in 1976