The Archipelago of Lavezzi (french: Îles Lavezzi; co, Isuli Lavezzi; it, Isole di Lavezzi) is a collection of small
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...
islands and
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic processes—deposition (geology), deposition of ...
s in the
Strait of Bonifacio
The Strait of Bonifacio (french: Bouches de Bonifacio; it, Bocche di Bonifacio; co, Bucchi di Bunifaziu; sdn, Bocchi di Bunifaciu; sc, Buccas de Bonifatziu; lij, Bocche de Bunifazziu; lat, Fretum Gallicum, Fretum Taphros) is the strait betw ...
that separates
Corsica from
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...
in 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 the ...
. They are administered from the town of
Bonifacio
Bonifacio may refer to:
Places
* Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, a town in Corsica, France
* Strait of Bonifacio, separating Corsica from Sardinia
* Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines
* Bonifacio Global City, a central bu ...
(
French department of
Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collec ...
) on Corsica.
Geography

The archipelago is located in about from the Corsican mainland, from
Cape Pertusato, and southeast of Bonifacio. It covers 5,123
ha in area and the highest point is . They include the southernmost point of
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
.
The two main islands are
Cavallo (112
ha), the only inhabited island in the archipelago, and Lavezzu (Italian: Lavezzo, 66
ha), just on the south of Cavallo. The other islands or islets are, from west to east: Piana, Ratino, Porraggia and Sperduto (or Perduto).
History
The archipelago was the site of the shipwreck of the French
frigate ''
Sémillante'' on February 15, 1855. On the island of Lavezzu there are two memorial cemeteries with the remains of the victims of the shipwreck.
Bird colony
Between 255 and 400 pairs of
Scopoli's shearwater
Scopoli's shearwater (''Calonectris diomedea'') is a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It breeds on rocky islands and on steep coasts in the Mediterranean but outside the breeding season it forages in the Atlantic. It is brownish grey ...
s (''Calonectris diomedea'') breed each year on Lavezzu. The breeding success of the shearwaters has increased since
black rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
s (''Rattus rattus'') were eradicated from the island in 2000.
These islands were the locale for
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...
's 1952 film ''
Manina, la fille sans voiles''.
See also
*
Maddalena archipelago
The Maddalena Archipelago is a group of islands in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica (France) and Sardinia (Italy). The whole archipelago makes the territory of the ''La Maddalena'' comune in Sardinia.
Geography
The archipelago consists ...
References
External links
Extreme points of France
{{CorseSud-geo-stub