Corse : tours paolines, plages noires et criques turquoise – Les villages de nos régions – MG

Corse : tours paolines, plages noires et criques turquoise – Les villages de nos régions – MG

Discovering France
means wandering its cobbled streets, climbing to the top of its most beautiful towers,
tasting its specialties, climbing its trails or sailing on its rivers. It also means meeting its inhabitants,
those who, every day, maintain and strive
to bring our heritage to life. Discovering our country
means immersing yourself in the villages of our regions. Let’s stop in Corsica,
a region made up of two departments. Upper Corsica and South Corsica. The largest city
in the territory is in Tajaxio. A favorite destination of the French, Corsica, with its mountains, turquoise sea and fine sandy beaches
, is a postcard setting in itself. Let us try, through this journey,
to discover it from another perspective, as close as possible to village life and
the customs perpetuated by its inhabitants. From the small fishing port
to the internationally renowned cove, passing through villages perched
in the mountains, let’s explore our island of beauty. From Centuri,
Cape Town’s most enchanting port. In Nonza and its astonishing
black sand beach. From Corbara, with its convent which is an
absolute must-see. In Pigna, a charming village,
in the heart of Balagne. To end in style in Piana,
on the edge of the creeks. But it is mainly in the north
of the island that we find the most picturesque little villages. First stop on the winding roads
of Haute-Corse, Centuri, in the Cap. The village is located 50 km
from Bastia, in Haute-Corse. Centuri is, above all, the
most important fishing port in Cape Town. Colorful boat, sea as far as the eye can see,
steep alleys, this village at the end of the world deserves a stop. Raphael is one of the 250
lucky inhabitants of Centuri. Paris. Every day,
he starts his day with a walk and never fails to go and greet the
village elder and former fisherman, Pierrot. How are you, Pierrot? How are you?
Good morning. And you ?
Yes. Are you in good shape? Although he no longer sails the seas,
Pierrot continues to passionately make authentic fishing traps. And at the time,
when I was fishing less, we fished with bigger traps, as
big as me, and in them, we would catch 150 kilos of sea bream. I made it from the beautiful islands. I’ve done it a lot,
but like this one, I haven’t found one like mine. I turn around on the mountain,
here I see the sea. Better, I can’t speak. And it was Tchentouris who
chose it as his home port. A charming village with discreet charm,
which nevertheless houses some exceptional residences. Don’t hesitate to venture
up to the village heights. You will discover, for example,
this villa built in the 19th century. Its owner,
like eight other inhabitants, had it built after returning from the Americas. It was poor here. They went there to make their fortune. And most of them made their fortunes. And it was by returning to the village
or by sending money that they built all these beautiful houses that we
find all along Cap Corse. Today, the interior can be visited. That’s original. Yes, this allegory alone
is incredible. We recognize a little touch of America,
and it’s wonderful. This room is magnificent. And don’t miss the view
of the harbor from the balcony. They had chosen well. Yes, they chose well. After this escapade to the heights
of the village, return to the port, since that’s where everything happens. Fernand is one of eight
active fishermen in Tchentoury. Look,
there are some beautiful ones there. Here, look. Centauri is the leading
lobster port in France. Lobster is therefore the
village’s specialty. You absolutely have to taste it there. We’ve been doing it like this for 53 years,
we’re not going to touch it. Here, we eat it simply. Two to three minutes in butter
and a little tip at the end of cooking. I’ll flambé it with brandy
and grape brandy to keep it warm until it arrives at the table. There we go, we make the alcohol come in mud. And it’s Normally,
it’s magic, you know? Ah, that’s great. So. So now
you know what we’re going to do? I’m going to eat it.
Come on, kids. We promise you won’t be disappointed. Take the time to appreciate this scenery and you can even make the pleasure last until the end of the day to see
the sun set over the port. Let’s extend our stop in Cap Corse
with what is certainly the most picturesque village in the area. Nestled between the Sauvage Mountains
and the gentle Mediterranean, lies Nanzar. This village is located 35
kilometers from Bastia. This former stronghold is today
one of the most visited places in Cap Corse. It must be said that it has everything to seduce. Its houses huddled
together, topped with slate roofs, its very colorful Sainte-Julie church,
and above all its astonishing Black Pebble beach. When you arrive, go and admire the houses
perched above the sea or wander through the narrow streets of the village. Caroline comes from a
family with strong roots here. She knows the place like the back of her hand. No, but what’s nice
is that it’s a village made up of tiny little streets like that,
where there are no cars. So it’s a fairly close-knit village,
where the houses, as you’ve seen, are one on top of the other. And so, I find that it
creates conviviality. In a doggie. You see, there’s always someone
you meet in the village. That’s what’s nice. Indeed, behind this postcard landscape
, hides a village with a soul. Here, every house is open to all
residents, but Frédéric’s is a little special. Listen, you were waiting.
When the weather is good like this… Around the sun,
we’re lucky today. With this view. We are at the very end of Nantes. On the point, you overlook the beach,
the sea, the rocks. It’s a pretty incredible situation. It’s still called Kabytsol. So Kabytsol is
the cape alone, the head alone. What is put forward like that,
this promontory jutting out into the sea, was a dwelling which had a
particular function, since it served as a semaphore
or a watchtower, one could say, why not, which allowed one to
defend oneself, to protect oneself just in case. In addition to being the proud owner
of this house, Frédéric is the city’s historian. The houses are stuck
together, simply because each time a house was built,
it had to be adapted to the existing one. This also allowed them to be consolidated. And there was also a
community life, since almost all of these
houses which are in the center of the village, are connected by the attics. This allowed people to escape if there was
a security problem . Honestly, I don’t think I know of
a single house in the village that doesn’t have a magnificent view. It creates little living spaces like that.
That’s nice, right? Apart from these private terraces,
we recommend you go to the village square. This is where you can discover and
nourish the soul of Corsica. Just sit down,
watch and listen. Come on, then, the lamp put on top. He has the monkey on his shoulder. Attention. How are you ? I don’t want to. My little.
How are you, little one? It’s good and you ?
How are you. Open. Come on, let’s talk a little.
My Dédé. Yes and you ? Well, are you okay?
How are you ? GOOD.
How are you ? Is there any return? And you, back at the counter? Well yes, look. What’s nice, and I love it,
is that in Corsica we practice a lot of what we call magagne. You know, I tease her,
but she teases me. There we go, we answer each other. There is nothing to exchange. And this village is a spectacle. After this stop in the square,
set off to storm the Paoline tower, which dominates the village. Here one of
Nonza’s most illustrious episodes took place. Led by Pascal Paoli, a
legendary figure of independence. 1768 is a significant and
fundamental date in the history of Corsica. Pascal Paoli will give the order to build
this tower, and it will still be the emblem of resistance of the Corsicans
in relation to the French invasion of the middle of the 18th century. Nonza then became a strategic location
that the French navy must conquer at all costs. That year, 1,200 soldiers disembarked
from the ship Sagittaire on the coast of Cap Corse. The Sagittarius attacks not
from its two sides by sea. And then, there is a very famous man,
Captain Cazet, there, who will defend this tower with
a handful of men against 1,200 French soldiers who turn back. That’s it, if I understood the story correctly
from what I was told in the village. And there, he manages to resist,
to scare them, to make them back down with a stratagem,
a staging, guns, explosions. Quite. Knowing, however,
for the record, that Captain Cazet was one-legged. He was an illustrious man
from our village. Today,
this tower is one of the village’s points of interest , but it is not the only one. So, we’ve seen the village,
but I’m still going to show you what makes
Nantes special. This is its Black Pebble beach. So, if you don’t mind
, we’ll go down and see. A unique Black Pebble beach in Corsica,
which was formed just a few decades ago. So ultimately, this beach
is a piece of mountain that was gradually deposited.
Exactly. It’s like a small sample
of the Cape’s geology. You find chemist,
you find serpentine. Florence is the village artist. She works with the rare
white stones found here. You won’t be able to miss her
works since she draws right on the beach. So, to scale, you
have to make drawings, I imagine, big enough so that we
can see them from up there. This one, for example,
is 18 meters tall and from above it looks like 10 centimeters. So, like Florence, don’t hesitate
to leave your mark on this beach. Some have even found it an
original way to declare their love. Yes, one year, I remember,
there was a marriage proposal. We saw it from up there,
written in large letters: Will you marry me? Jess. So. That, hearts, hearts,
that’s what we find the most. The names. Love messages, names.
Love messages, yes. Nanzza, a romantic village
that will make you swoon. After these two villages of the Cape,
let’s discover the northwest coast of the island, a region
called Balagne. Here, we have chosen to
present Corbara to you, 25 km from Calvi. A typical village where you
will surely come across Nono, as everyone calls him here. He’s a bit like Corbara’s mascot. Why look elsewhere
when you have everything right here? Isn’t it? These are alleys that are very small
like that, with old houses. This is typical Corsican. A magnificent authentic village, therefore,
dotted with vaulted passages and numerous wash houses. At that time, we didn’t have
washing machines and everyone went to the laundromat here. And there was the queue and her sister,
Thérèse, she would get up when she heard my mother at 2 a.m.,
and bring her coffee. Which no longer exists now. Although times have changed, even here
in this little corner of Corsica, Corbara has managed to preserve its religious heritage. There are still seven chapels here,
including the Collegiate Church of Anunciata, which is worth a look. But the building that you absolutely must
visit is a little outside the town. Follow the direction
of the Saint-Dominique convent. Overlooking Corbara from its height,
it is the largest in Corsica. Good morning. Hello my father. Pardon. Nono and Paul, the village mayor,
regularly come to chat with the brothers of the Congregation
of Saint John, who run the life of the convent. We don’t necessarily only welcome
Christians, we welcome those who are searching. We try to bring
a note of joy so that those who come here leave peaceful,
reconciled with themselves and then open to others. The monks welcome all those
who wish to live the life of the convent for a few days. So why not you? If you wish to stay there, you will be
accommodated in former monastic cells. And perhaps, who knows,
you will sleep in the room occupied by Guy de Maupassant at the end of the 19th century,
when he stayed here. On your way back to the village,
stop at the potter’s. Hi. Don’t give up. You know I can look at you,
I can close my eyes while turning. It’s beautiful to see when… The kids say it’s magic. There is a magical side to it. It’s a job of love. The room is most beautiful when
it is like this, when it still shines with the water, etc.
She is still alive. You can find these creations
on the table of the only restaurant in the town, at Antoine and Nénette’s. A perfect place
to taste local cuisine. Here, we serve the famous Corsican charcuterie,
but also other specialties such as Bruccio doughnuts. Not far from the restaurant,
then go and discover an astonishing place. Oh no, no.
How are you? How so ?
How are you ? You give me a kiss, disturb. How are you ? A museum dedicated to the history of Corsica
that this enthusiast has set up in his own home. We are in front of a painting which is
very important for us, the people of Corbar. These other people are good, absolutely. We are proud of Davia. Quite. So, Davia… This is one of the countless stories
you can discover in this Ali Baba’s cave. As you leave the museum,
you might hear the voices of Corsican singers who meet
several times a week at the village bar. It’s always a great atmosphere. There are always people singing. And it’s a place where you feel good. If you enjoyed the atmosphere
of Corbara, we now suggest you go and discover its neighbor. Three kilometers away,
welcome to Pigna, a hilltop village located 20 kilometers from Calvi, in Balagne. Less well-known to tourists
than Saint-Florent or Île-Rousse, this mountain village has been
miraculously spared from the excesses of our modern world. To discover its
exceptional location, a few minutes of walking are necessary. This is where Jérôme, a local,
presents his paradise to us. Pigna has the particularity of being on a peak,
a promontory, and there is a cirque around small mountains. These viewpoints that converge
towards the village with the sea behind, it is still a beneficial place.
Gods. The history of Pigna
is above all that of a large family, the Franceschini, who owned
practically all the surrounding land. To establish their authority,
the Franceschini of Miscini had an imposing building built for themselves
called Upalazzo, the palace. Now transformed into a luxury hotel, the village has developed around it. Today, Pigna has barely
a hundred year-round inhabitants. With its two-bellied church,
the village is a superb example of medieval Balagne architecture. First, it is a granite region,
so all the houses and streets are made of granite. This stone is a bit like that, gray. And these villages which are perched, they are
crossed by all these little streets. The stone alleys
are Pigna’s treasure. And since everything here is sloping,
the traditional paving found there does not only have an aesthetic function. Above all, it prevents stones from coming
loose during heavy rain. I’ll show you exactly,
you can’t follow a stone. How
exactly the stones are laid, and that’s the whole difference. So. We could imagine that, precisely,
this stone, given its shape, is placed like that, very flat. Well no, precisely,
we place it like that, and it is the deepest part
which is inclined, and the narrowest part , which is the one on top. Again, it’s called a uricata, and in French, we pose it as a hedgehog. In Pigna, there are stones,
the sun and the sea. But people also come here for the small
community of artisans who bring life to the village, like Marie
and her funny music boxes. An original souvenir
to bring back in your luggage. So this one is really
the most famous lullaby in Corsica. I have children outside
for generations. Ciut’charel means little girl. In Corsica, crafts and music
have always been closely linked. Continuation of the walk
to the village luthier. In this workshop, he
revived a traditional instrument. Here we are in the workshop of Hugo,
my brother, who popularized the ceeter to this traditional Corsican instrument. The ceeter is a cittern,
and the characteristic is this neck with a grip
narrower than the width of the fingerboard. Music is therefore at the heart
of village life. And to welcome the best
Corsican groups, Pigna even has an auditorium with astonishing acoustics. It is built of rammed earth,
earth, raw earth, shuttering. And the little holes that you see there,
the circles, inside, there are acoustic vessels which serve as resonators. They are here. You see? So. Truly, it is a great pleasure
to listen to both the voices and the string instruments, in particular. All that remains is to enjoy the
magnificent nature that borders Pigna. And for that, we recommend
horseback riding, which is very popular around here. Hello Julie.
Hello Julie. How are you ? Along the way, don’t forget to
stop in Julie’s garden. So there are the beans. It is a typical product in Corsica. They can be eaten raw with
cold meats or in dishes, or you can make a bean soup. Nature, heritage, gastronomy,
music and tradition. All the ingredients that make
Pigna a very welcoming village. In Corsica, there is
Pigna and there is Piana. Located 70 km from Ajaccio,
for this last stage, we are in Southern Corsica. What makes the village famous
are of course the calanques, these red granite coves
known throughout the world. A unique site classified as a
World Heritage Site, presented by UNESCO. But the village also has
some beautiful attractions. Between the sunny terraces,
the Sainte-Marie church, the old houses and the artisans
who have established themselves on the street, Piane knows how to pamper its visitors. Piana, I love it. It’s a nice little village. You go, do that, 300 meters,
go, you see the sea. After, you see the mountain. It’s unthinkable. Céline and her son are lucky enough
to live there all year round. So obviously, they have their habits,
like this somewhat hidden path, yet very popular with locals. Watch your feet so you don’t slip. It leads to the cove of Ficayol,
with its fine sandy beach and turquoise water, a magical place. With the famous calanques as a backdrop. And the most romantic of them is
called Lovers’ Rock, with its heart sculpted by nature. This story is quite pretty
because it’s about a shepherdess. The devil is said to have fallen in love with this
shepherdess and she refused his advances. And to punish her and her lover,
therefore, this shepherd, he would have imprisoned them just above the heart like that. A little imagination and you will see
the silhouettes of lovers facing each other above the heart. You can also visit
the coves from the sea. Every day, more The future
boat offers excursions. If
the coves seem dizzying from the sea, don’t miss the chance to
admire them from one of the hotels perched on the heights of Piana,
such as the Philippine hotel. You can even
enjoy the catch of the day. This is the queen of the gulf. Come on, look at yours.
She is beautiful. A grilled lobster with a
view of the creeks. How to resist? It is in this breathtaking natural setting
that we conclude this trip to Corsica. An ideal destination between sun,
beach and mountains, to explore
picturesque villages and deep-rooted traditions. In short, an unforgettable stroll
in what truly deserves its nickname of the Isle of Beauty.

Cap sur la Corse, l’Île de Beauté côté villages.

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À Centuri, port du Cap aux barques colorées, on suit les gestes d’antan avec Pierrot, ancien pêcheur qui tresse encore ses casiers. Halte à Nonza : maisons perchées, tour paoline et plage de galets noirs battue par le vent. En Balagne, Corbara déploie chapelles et couvent Saint-Dominique, ruelles voûtées et lavoirs ; à deux pas, Pigna cultive l’art et la musique : ateliers d’artisans, « ceeter » corse, auditorium en terre crue, et points de vue sur la mer. Final à Piana : calanques de granit rouge classées à l’UNESCO, sentiers vers des criques secrètes et sorties en mer au pied du Rocher des Amoureux. Entre ports, couvents, ateliers et falaises, un voyage au plus près des traditions corses, entre montagne et Méditerranée.

Réalisé par Élodie BOUTIT.
© MORGANE PRODUCTION