The Corsicans ( Corsican, Italian: ''Corsi''; French: ''Corses'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group, native to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

island of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, a

territorial collectivity A territorial collectivity (, previously '), or territorial authority, in many francophone countries, is a Legal person, legal entity governed by public law that exercises within its territory certain powers devolved to it by the State as part of a ...

of France.

Origin and history

The island was populated since the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

(''Dame de Bonifacio'') and the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

by people who came from the Italian peninsula, especially the modern regions of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

and

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

. An important megalithic tradition developed locally since the

4th millennium BC File:4th millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: The Temple of Ġgantija, one of the oldest freestanding structures in the world; Warka Vase; Bronocice pot with one of the earliest known depictions of a wheeled vehicle; Kish ...

. Reached, like

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, by Polada culture influences in the Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, in the

2nd millennium BC File:2nd millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: Hammurabi, Babylonian king, best known for his Code of Hammurabi, code of laws; The gold Mask of Tutankhamun, funerary mask of Tutankhamun has become a symbol of ancient Egypt ...

Corsica, the southern part in particular, saw the rise of the Torrean civilization, strongly linked to the Nuragic civilization. Corsica-Romana

The modern Corsicans are named after an ancient people known by the Romans as '' Corsi''. The ''Corsi'', who gave their name to the island, actually originated from the Northeastern part of Nuragic Sardinia ( Gallura). According to

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, the Corsi were made up of a large number of tribes that dwelt in Corsica (namely the ''Belatones'' or ''Belatoni'', the ''Cervini'', the ''Cilebenses'' or ''Cilibensi'', the ''Cumanenses'' or ''Cumanesi'', the ''Licinini'', the ''Macrini'', the ''Opini'', the ''Subasani'', the ''Sumbri'', the ''Tarabeni'', the ''Titiani'' and the ''Venacini'') as well as in the far north-east of Sardinia (the ''Lestricones'', ''Lestrigones'' or ''Lestriconi / Lestrigoni'', the ''Longonenses'' or ''Longonensi''). These Corsi shared the island with the ''Tibulati'', who dwelt at the extreme north of Sardinia near the ancient town of Tibula. Further research is still needed to answer the question of the origin of the ''Corsi'' and their alleged relation with today's Corsicans. According to several scholars, they may have been a group of tribes affiliated to the ancient

Ligures The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celts, Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in anti ...

, like the Ilvates in the neighboring Ilva island (today's

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

in Italy), and may have spoken the old Ligurian language. The ethnic base of the Corsicans was made up of the Corsican tribes of the Nuragic and then Torrean civilization, of Sardinian origin. In ancient times they were influenced and mixed from the ancient Corsicans to the Ligurians,

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

, to the first Greek settlers and then to other peoples such as the Latins. At the beginning of our era, Corsica underwent Romanization. In the Middle Ages, the local population of Corsica mixed with a minority of Greeks Byzantines, Germanic Ostrogoths, Franks and Lombards . In the 9th century, Corsica was conquered by

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

from Spain, and in the 11th and 18th centuries the Pisans and the Genoese dominated the island. The indigenous population preferred to live in the central part of the island, which contributed to relative security and prevented them from mingling with foreigners.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

says that when the Roman captains did some errands in Corsica and took a large number of slaves to Rome, one looked with admiration at the fact that the Corsicans were all savages and were more beast than man: for either they hunted each other to death in every way possible to them, or else they annoyed their masters so greatly with their impatience and lack of wit, that the said masters were angry for having put their money into it, although they would have cost them very little.Pierre Davity, ''Les Estats, empires, et principautez du monde'', Paris, Chevalier, 1616. For several centuries the Corsicans suffered raids from the Barbary and many captured Corsicans were enslaved in North Africa. Some of these slaves converted to Islam and became renegades in the service of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, they in turn captured other Corsicans. Among these renegades are Hasan Corso, Mami Corso and Murad I Bey (born Giacomo Senti) who founded the Muradid dynasty, of Corsican origin and who reigned over the Regency of Tunis from 1613 to 1702. At the end of the Middle Ages and at the beginning of the Renaissance, the Corsicans distinguished themselves in combat in many conflicts, many of them were then mercenaries (or Condottieri) and fought for sometimes rival Kingdoms. Corsicans distinguished themselves in particular during the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

alongside the Holy League against the Ottoman Empire, others were mercenaries in the service of the Kingdom of France (including Sampiero Corso who also served the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

and returned to his native land with the support of France, Naples, and the

to confront the Genoese occupiers). At the beginning of the 17th century, according to Pierre Davity, the Corsicans were hardly civilized for the most part and there was not in them that politeness that one sees among the Italians. They are "extremely cruel" and still retain what Caesar said of them for this look, nevertheless there are some very good soldiers and brave strong men among them. Moreover, they are so vindictive that the Italians have a common proverb which says that one should not trust a Corsican, neither alive nor dead, because as soon as someone has been killed, suddenly all his relatives come together to kill the murderer if it is possible for them. Pisan Republic

In subsequent centuries, Corsica was ruled and settled by

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

ns (from 1050 to 1295) and the Genoese (from 1295 to 1755, when the island broke free from ''La Superba''): this is reflected in the fact that around 80% of the modern Corsican surnames (''Casanova'', ''Luciani'', ''Agostini'', ''Colonna'', ''Paoli'', ''Bartoli'', ''Rossi'', ''Albertini'', ''Filippi'', ''Cesari'', etc.) is found in Italy, as well as in the fact that the modern Corsican varieties, especially the Northern ones, are linguistically considered part of Tuscan. Because the island has been historically and culturally related to the Italian mainland up until then, the Italian populations from Northern and Central Italy have contributed to a significant degree to the modern Corsican ancestry. In 1891 Roland Bonaparte wrote in ''Une excursion en Corse'' that the Corsicans particularly abhor injustice and since the Genoese who ruled the island for 500 years had erected the denial of justice into a principle of government, it followed that the Corsica was reduced to taking justice into his own hands: hence the vendetta. Throughout the 19th century many Corsicans sympathized with the Bonapartist doctrine and

French nationalism French nationalism () usually manifests as civic nationalism, civic or cultural nationalism, promoting the cultural unity of France. History French nationalism emerged during the Hundred Years' War, which consisted of a series of intermitte ...

while other Corsicans took part in French political and military life.

Demographics

has a population of 322,120 inhabitants (Jan. 2013 estimate). At the 2011 census, 56.3% of the inhabitants of Corsica were born on the island and 28.6% in Continental France, while 0.3% were natives of

Overseas France Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 France, French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the E ...

and 14.8% hailed from foreign (non-French) countries. The majority of the foreign population in Corsica comes from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

(particularly

Moroccans Moroccans () are the Moroccan nationality law, citizens and nationals of the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who ...

, who made up 33.5% of all immigrants in Corsica at the 2011 census), and from Southern Europe (particularly Portuguese, 22.7% of all immigrants, followed by the Italians, 13.7%).

Corsican diaspora

During the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, Corsican emigration was significant. Large numbers of Corsicans left the island for the French mainland or foreign countries. During the 19th century, the favorite destinations of migrants were the French colonies and South America (for more details, see Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico and Corsican immigration to Venezuela). Then, between the 1920s and the 1950s, the major destination became the French mainland, primarily

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, which today is considered as the "first Corsican city of the world" with around 100,000 Corsicans in the city. Causes of this emigration are various; poverty is the main reason (the French laws for restriction of exportations, the

Second Industrial Revolution The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid Discovery (observation), scientific discovery, standardisation, mass production and industrialisation from the late 19th century into the early ...

and the agricultural crisis had an adverse effect on the local economy). Later, the departures have become more considerable owing to the demographic strain caused by

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Census data

Notes: Essentially

Pieds-Noirs The (; ; : ) are an ethno-cultural group of people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French colonial rule from 1830 to 1962. Many of them departed for mainland France during and after the ...

who resettled in Corsica after the independence of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, many of whom had Corsican ancestry.² An immigrant is by French definition a person born in a foreign country and who didn't have French citizenship at birth. Note that an immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still listed as an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants. ³ Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria ⁴ Portugal, Italy, Spain, Andorra,

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, Monaco Source: INSEE

Culture and tradition

Militarized society

Corsican society is a militarized society, during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, many Corsican men had been part of Condottiere troops in the service of various kingdoms and empires in Europe. This was probably due to the fact that Corsica, deprived of wealth resources, could only enrich itself at the time through its inhabitants waging war. In the

history of France The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age France, Iron Age. What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul. Greek writers noted the presence of three main ethno-linguistic grou ...

, since the Conquest of Corsica, the Corsicans were the national ethnic group most involved in armed forces in proportion to their population. After the

French Conquest of Corsica The French conquest of Corsica was a successful Expeditionary warfare, expedition by French Army, French forces of the Kingdom of France under the Noël Jourda de Vaux, Comte de Vaux, against Corsican forces under Pasquale Paoli of the Corsican R ...

, many Corsicans refusing the French yoke took up arms, harassing the new authorities. A large number of generals in the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

during the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

were also Corsicans. At the beginning of the 21st century, Corsica holds the record number per capita of people with authorized gun ownership. With 341 declared weapons per 1,000 inhabitants, the island is at the top of the French regions with a level of weaponry comparable to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Vendetta

The ''vendetta'' is one of the key points of Corsican society. The Corsicans have for a very long time, due to the absence of state and cult of honor, preferred to use the Vendetta in cases of dishonor of oneself or towards a member of one's family, or to avenge a murder committed by a reckless one. Among Corsicans, the permanent invocation of honour for the most serious and the most trivial things is an attitude which allows one to settle scores. In some cases, the vendetta can be settled by a mediator, thus allowing the vengeance to end, or end with the death of the guilty person.

Religion

The Corsicans are in the extreme majority Roman Catholics, although with their own pre-Christian contributions.

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, beyond religion, is at the very source of Corsican culture, it is traditional music, symphonies or songs, Catholicism and liturgical songs have directly impacted the way of singing traditional music. Previously, some Corsicans were Muslims, followers of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

, but this did not concern the majority, Corsican Muslims were established in North Africa and were often freed slaves.

Beliefs and superstitions

The Corsicans had within their culture their own supernatural myths and legends. Historically superstitious, the Corsican population had its own beliefs passed down from generation to generation. « L'ochju » is the Corsican version of

Evil Eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...

. To remove «l'ochju» you need a «signatore» (a kind of faith healer) who exorcise the affected person by dint of prayers and rituals. The “Mazzeru” is a kind of sorcerer who predicts the death of human beings in his dreams. He hunts and kills the first wild beast he finds, turns it over and sees on its face the face of a loved one who will soon die. After this period, their lifespan cannot exceed one year and 3 days. The “Mazzeru” would be someone strange and mysterious but not necessarily evil, since he kills against his will during his dreams.

First names

Native Corsican first names differ very widely from French and Italian first names, so that a bearer of a native first name is easily recognizable. Here are some examples: * Anghjulu is the Corsican form of Ange/Angelo * Chjara is the Corsican form of Claire/Chiara * Ghjaseppu is the Corsican form of Joseph/Giuseppe * Guglielmu is the Corsican form of Guillaume/Guglielmo/William * Petru is the Corsican form of Pietro/Pierre * Lavighju/Lavisu are the Corsican forms of Luigi/Louis * Santu is the Corsican form of Toussaint Due to the possibility for certain people who do not speak Corsican to pronounce these first names, some are not used in civil registration but can be used as pseudonyms by people with the equivalent of these first names to assert their identity.

Languages

Alongside French (''Français''), the official language throughout France, Corsican (''Corsu'') is the other most widely spoken language on the island: it is a

Romance language The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

pertaining to the Italo-Dalmatian branch and akin to medieval Tuscan. Corsican was long the

vernacular language Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of language, particularly when perceived as having lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal. More n ...

besides Italian (''Italiano''), which retained official status in Corsica until 1859. Since then, Italian as the island's traditional

prestige language Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband * ''The Prestige'' (film), a 2006 American thriller direct ...

has been replaced by French due to the annexation of the island by France in 1768. Over the next two centuries, the use of French grew to the extent that, by the Liberation in 1945, all islanders had a working knowledge of French. The twentieth century saw a wholesale language shift, with islanders changing their language practices to the extent that there were no monolingual Corsican speakers left by the 1960s. By 1990, an estimated 50% of islanders had some degree of proficiency in Corsican, and a small minority, perhaps 10%, used Corsican as a first language. To access the data, click on List by languages, Corsican, Corsican in France, then scroll to ''Geographical and language background''. Fewer and fewer people speak also a Ligurian dialect in what has long been a language island, Bonifacio: it is locally known by the name of ''bunifazzin''. Gallurese dialect is a variety of CorsicanAtti Convegno Lingua Gallurese, Palau 2014
/ref> spoken in the extreme north of

, including the region of Gallura and the archipelago of La Maddalena. In the Maddalena archipelago, the local dialect (called ''Isulanu, Maddaleninu, Maddalenino'') was brought by shepherds from Alta Rocca and Sartène in southern Corsica during immigration in the 17th to 18th centuries. Though influenced by Gallurese, it has maintained the original characteristics of Corsican. There are also numerous words of Genoese and Ponzese origin.

Number of Corsican speakers

The January 2007 estimated population of the island was 281,000, while the figure for the March 1999 census, when most of the studies – though not the linguistic survey work referenced in this article – were performed, was about 261,000 (see under

). Only a fraction of the population at either time spoke Corsican with any fluency. The 2001 population of 341,000 speakers on the island given by

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...

exceeds either census and thus may be considered questionable, like its estimate of 402,000 speakers worldwide. The use of Corsican over French has been declining. In 1980 about 70% of the population "had some command of the Corsican language." In 1990 out of a total population of about 254,000 the percentage had declined to 50%, with only 10% using it as a first language. The language appeared to be in serious decline when the French government reversed its non-supportive stand and began some strong measures to save it. Whether these measures will succeed remains to be seen. No recent statistics on Corsican are available.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

classifies the Corsican language as a ''potentially endangered language'', as it has "a large number of children speakers" but is "without an official or prestigious status." The classification does not state that the language is currently endangered, only that it is potentially so. Often acting according to the current long-standing sentiment unknown Corsicans cross out French roadway signs and paint in the Corsican names. The Corsican language is a key vehicle for Corsican culture, which is notably rich in

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

s and in

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

song.

Cuisine

From the mountains to the plains and sea, many ingredients play a role. Game such as wild boar (''Cignale'', ''Singhjari'') is popular, and in old times mouflon (''muvra'') were consumed. There also is seafood and river fish such as trout. Delicatessen such as ''figatellu'', ''coppa'', ham (''prizuttu''), ''lonzu'' are made from Corsican pork (''porcu nustrale''). Cheeses like ''Brocciu'', ''casgiu merzu'' (the Corsican version of the

n '' casu marzu''), ''casgiu veghju'' are made from goat or sheep milk. Chestnuts are the main ingredient in the making of ''pulenta''. A variety of alcoholic drinks also exist, ranging from ''aquavita'' (brandy), red and white Corsican wines (''Vinu Corsu''), muscat (plain or sparkling), and the famous "cap corse" produced by Mattei.

Discrimination

Due to the culture of Vendetta, the presence of mafiosi of Corsican origin in 1920s-1990s, the hostility to the migration of non-Corsicans in Corsica and the multiple attacks in Corsica by local activists, the Corsicans have often been portrayed as a dangerous,. intimidating,

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and criminal population by many individuals but also by states, notably the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

or the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

. For example, in 1890, the trip of President Sadi Carnot to Corsica was recounted in Le petit journal, with a circulation of more than a million copies, in an article entitled: «The President among the savages.» Some stereotypes of Corsicans include that they don't like tourists, that they are racist or lazy, or that they are terrorists or members of mafia groups.

Genetics

Genetic research has revealed that the Corsican samples presented affinities with people from the French region of

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

and the Italians from

, Liguria,

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, Sicily and

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

. In 2019, analysis of the genome of the Corsican population also reveals a close genetic affinity with the populations of northern and central Italy, while sharing with the Sardinians a notable proportion of ancestry, demographic processes and similar isolations. The analysis revealed that the Corsican population shares several genomic characteristics with

and north-central Italy, creating a unique blend of genomic ancestry. Overall, the Corsican samples have been found to be genetically closer to the Northern and Central Italian populations than to the neighboring Sardinians. The same study estimate that the genome of the modern Corsicans derive from Anatolia Neolithic: 33%, Europe Middle Neolithic/Chalcolithic: 34%, Steppe EMBA: 19% and Iran Neolithic: 14%.

Notable Corsicans

National leaders

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Aka ''Napoleon I'' (1769-1821) –

Emperor of the French Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First French Empire and the Second French Empire. The emperor of France was an absolute monarch. Details After rising to power by ...

. * Louis Napoléon Bonaparte aka ''Napoleon III'' (1808-1873) –

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

and

. *

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; or ; ; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Republic of Genoa, Genoese and later Kingd ...

(1721-1807) – Father of the

Corsican Republic The Corsican Republic () was a short-lived state on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. It was proclaimed in July 1755 by Pasquale Paoli, who was seeking independence from the Republic of Genoa. Paoli created the Corsican Constitutio ...

, statesman, and military leader. * Raúl Leoni (1905-1972) – president of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. * Hasan Corso born ''Petru Paulu Tavera (1518-1556) – Ottoman army general, mayor of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, Agha and governor of Regency of Algiers. * Murad I Bey ''born Giacomo Santi'' aka ''Murād Qūrçū''/''Murad Corso'' (died 1631) – First Muradid Bey of Tunis, founder of the Muradid dynasty. * Hammuda Pasha Bey (died 1666) – Second Muradid Bey of Tunis.

Military personnel

* Jacques Pierre Abbatucci (1723-1813) – officer in the army of Genoese Corsica, Ancien regime France and the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

. * Sampiero Corso born ''Sampieru de Bastelica'' (1498-1567) – Corsican

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

and warlord rebel against Genoese occupation of Corsica and proto-nationalist leader. * Pasquino Corso (died 1532) –Corsican

and warlord, colonel of the papal Corsican Guard. * Demetrio Stefanopoli (1749-1821) – Greek-Corsican military officer of Army of Condé. * Jacques Ortoli (1895-1947) – French air force officer * Petru Giovacchini (1910-1955) – Corsican fascist and

Italian armed forces The Italian Armed Forces (, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth Military branch, branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's Gendarmerie, military police an ...

officer. * Paul François Grossetti (1861-1918) –

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of World War 1. * Albert Preziosi (1915-1943) – French military aviator of Fighter Squadron 2/30 Normandie-Niemen * Laurent Preziosi (1912-2010) –

Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

resistant. * Mami Corso aka ''Mami Pacha'' born ''Fillipu d'Arbarella'' (16th century-unknown) – Corsican muslim privateer and lieutenant of Kılıç Ali Paşa.

Political activism

* Mariana Bracetti - Puerto Rican independentist of Corsican ancestry * Aristides Calvani (1918-1986) - Venezuelan politician and lawyer of Corsican ancestry * César Campinchi (1882-1941)- politician and lawyer * Arthur Andrew Cipriani (1875–1945)- labour leader and politician of Trinidad and Tobago * Yvan Colonna (1960-2022) – Corsican nationalist convicted for the 1998 assassination of the prefect of Corse-du-Sud, Claude Érignac. * Alain Orsoni (1954-) – former leader of

National Liberation Front of Corsica The National Liberation Front of Corsica ( or ; , Abbreviation, abbreviated FLNC) is a name used by various Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla and paramilitary organizations that advocate an Independence, independent or Autonomy, autonomous state on t ...

. * Léo Battesti (1953-) – Founder and former leader of

. * François Santoni (1960-2001), former leader of the FLNC-Canal Historique. Left in 1998 to form Armata Corsa, and assassinated in 2001. * Yvan Benedetti (1965-) – French nationalist activist. * Carlos Francisco Grisanti Franceschi– Venezuelan diplomat * Pietro Rocca (1887-1966) – publicist, journalist, nationalist and pro-fascist activist * Santu Casanova (1850-1936) – publicist, poet, nationalist and regionalist activist, known for having made Corsican a written language. * Danielle Casanova (1909-1943) – communist activist and anti-fascist resistance fighter. *

Marco Angeli di Sartèna Marco Angeli di Sartena (1905-1985) was a politician from Corsica, who wrote in the famous Literary Review "A Muvra". He was an active irredentist, supporting the union of Corsica to Italy. Life He was born in Sartena, from a Corsican family w ...

(1905-1985) – nationalist and pro-italian irredentist publicist. * Michel Zévaco (1860-1918) – anarchist activist.

Banditism

* Antoine Bonelli aka ''Bellacoscia'' (1827-1907) – Corsican honor bandit * Paul Carbone (1894-1943) –criminal involved in the Corsican-Marseille milieu and Nazi collaborator from 1920 until his death in 1943. * Theodore Poli (1799–1831) – most famous Corsican bandits of the 19th century and founder of "Republic of the Bandits of Liamone". * Nonce Romanetti (1882-1926) – one of the last Corsican bandits.

Singers

Alizée Alizée Lyonnet ( Jacotey; born 21 August 1984), known professionally as Alizée, is a French pop singer. She is one of the best-selling French female artists of the 21st century, and the singer with the most exports out of France. Her best-k ...

(1984-) – French pop singer and dancer. * Clara Luciani (1992-) – French pop singer * Jenifer (1982) – Pop rock and Soul singer. * Patrick Fiori (1969-) – Pop rock singer. * Jul born ''Julien Mari'' (1990-) – French rapper

Corsicans in fiction

* The Corsican Brothers by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

. * Mateo Falcone by Prosper Mérimée. * Asterix in Corsica by

René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...

and Albert Uderzo ,1973. * Mireille Bouquet, the daughter of a

mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

family in the 2001 anime series Noir. * The Corsican File, 2004. * Petru Santu by Frédéric Federzoni, 2005-2023. * Les Menteuses by Charles Exbrayat.

References

*Smith, William (1872). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: J. Murray. pp. pages 689–692. Downloadable Google Books.

External links

Strabo's text of Geographica
– Geography (Strabo)
Ptolemy's text of Geographica
–

Geography (Ptolemy) The ''Geography'' (, , "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas (book), atlas, and a treatise on cartography, compiling the geographical knowledge of the 2nd-century Roman Empire. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corsican People Romance peoples Ethnic groups in France