location: Mediterranean Sea - 4th largest island.
the capital: Ajaccio (Aiacciu)
population: ~ 300.000 (year 2008)
territorial collectivity area: 8.722 km2
coastline: 1000 km
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea (0 m )
highest point: Monte Cinto 2,706 m
size: 2.3 times less than the size of Slovenia
Corsica 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 is situated southeast of the French mainland, west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia, which is the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. The island had a population of 349,465 (year 2021)
The island is a territorial collectivity of France. The regional capital is Ajaccio. Although the region is divided into two administrative departments, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, their respective regional and departmental territorial collectivities were merged on 1 January 2018 to form the single territorial collectivity of Corsica. As such, Corsica enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than other French regional collectivities; for example, the Corsican Assembly is permitted to exercise limited executive powers. Corsica's second-largest town is Bastia, the prefecture of Haute-Corse.
Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it seceded to become a self-proclaimed, Italian-speaking Republic. In 1768, Genoa officially ceded it to Louis XV of France as part of a pledge for the debts it had incurred by enlisting France's military help in suppressing the Corsican revolt, and as a result France went on to annex it in 1769. The future Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio: his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is today a visitor attraction and museum. Because of Corsica's historical ties to Tuscany, the island has retained many Italian cultural elements and many Corsican surnames are rooted in the Italian peninsula. Corsican, the native tongue, is recognised as one of France's regional languages. Corsica is the smallest Metropolitan French region by population, and the third-smallest overall after Mayotte and French Guiana.
| Climate |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °C |
13.6
|
14.0
|
15.9
|
18.1
|
22.2
|
26.1
|
29.4
|
29.7
|
26.3
|
22.1
|
17.4
|
14.3
|
20.76
|
| Daily mean °C |
9.7
|
9.8
|
11.6
|
13.7
|
17.8
|
21.3
|
24.5
|
24.8
|
21.7
|
18.0
|
13.6
|
10.7
|
16.41
|
| Average low °C |
5.8
|
5.6
|
7.3
|
9.3
|
12.9
|
16.5
|
19.5
|
19.9
|
17.1
|
13.9
|
9.8
|
7.1
|
12.06
|
| Average precipitation mm |
71.1
|
58.3
|
61.2
|
79.9
|
45.8
|
25.1
|
12.1
|
28.4
|
88.3
|
125.6
|
94.2
|
103.7
|
793.7
|
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) |
6.2 |
6.1 |
6.5 |
7.5 |
4.9 |
3.0 |
1.5 |
2.2 |
4.8 |
7.1 |
8.1 |
8.7 |
66.6 |
| Source: Météo France |
| hideClimate data for Ajaccio, central-western part of island |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °C |
13.3
|
13.7
|
15.0
|
17.4
|
20.9
|
24.5
|
27.6
|
27.7
|
25.4
|
22.0
|
17.5
|
14.4
|
19.95
|
| Daily mean °C |
8.6
|
9.0
|
10.1
|
12.3
|
15.7
|
19.1
|
21.9
|
22.1
|
19.9
|
16.7
|
12.6
|
9.6
|
14.80
|
| Average low °C |
3.9
|
4.3
|
5.3
|
7.3
|
10.6
|
13.8
|
16.2
|
16.5
|
14.4
|
11.4
|
7.7
|
4.8
|
9.68
|
| Average precipitation mm |
73.8
|
69.7
|
58.1
|
52.0
|
40.2
|
19.0
|
11.0
|
19.9
|
43.6
|
87.0
|
95.9
|
75.5
|
645.7
|
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) |
8.9 |
8.7 |
8.3 |
7.2 |
5.7 |
2.8 |
1.3 |
2.4 |
4.3 |
7.3 |
8.6 |
9.1 |
74.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours |
133.3 |
145.0 |
189.1 |
225.0 |
282.1 |
321.0 |
365.8 |
331.7 |
264.0 |
210.8 |
150.0 |
127.1 |
2,744.9 |
| hideClimate data for Bastia, north-eastern part of island |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °C |
13.6
|
13.8
|
15.6
|
17.8
|
22.0
|
25.8
|
29.1
|
29.3
|
25.8
|
21.9
|
17.4
|
14.5
|
20.6
|
| Daily mean °C |
9.1
|
9.4
|
10.8
|
12.9
|
16.3
|
20.0
|
23.2
|
23.3
|
20.6
|
17.1
|
12.9
|
10.1
|
15.5
|
| Average low °C |
5.1
|
4.9
|
6.7
|
8.8
|
12.4
|
16.0
|
19.0
|
19.4
|
16.5
|
13.3
|
9.2
|
6.3
|
11.5
|
| Average precipitation mm |
67
|
57
|
60
|
76
|
50
|
41
|
13
|
21
|
81
|
127
|
114
|
93
|
800
|
| Mean monthly sunshine hours |
134 |
158 |
192 |
214 |
268 |
296 |
345 |
304 |
232 |
176 |
133 |
128 |
2,580 |
| Source: Météo-France, data for 1981–2010 |
|
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virtual excursions