Cavallo ( co, Isula di Cavaddu; Bonifacian dialect: ''Isula Cavaddu'') is a small

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

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 ...

located between Corsica and

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, after ...

. Cavallo is the southernmost inhabited territory of metropolitan France and part of the commune of Bonifacio, Corsica.

Geography

Cavallo is the only inhabited island of the

Lavezzi archipelago The Archipelago of Lavezzi (french: Îles Lavezzi; co, Isuli Lavezzi; it, Isole di Lavezzi) is a collection of small granite islands and reefs in the Strait of Bonifacio that separates Corsica from Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. They are ...

, 2.3 km from the Corsican coast, close to 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 betwe ...

. It is about 13 km from Sardinia. The island is French territory, though it belonged to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the past. Cavallo Island is about 120 hectares in area and its highest point is 32 metres above sea level. It has a small port.

History

Cavallo has a long history, beginning when

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

sent

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

ers there to cut

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 under ...

for

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

s. The island was abandoned during

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

’ empire, and remained uninhabited until a shepherd settled there with his flock in 1800. The deep sea surrounding the island hid dangerous obstacles for navigators, earning the island the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

“The Cursed Siren.” In 1855 the French frigate ''Semillante'' which was transporting soldiers to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

sank nearby and all 693 on board were lost at sea. In 1978 Cavallo made international news when it was the scene of a shooting committed by Vittorio Emanuele, the exiled

king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...

Tourism

Cavallo is mostly privately owned, but does allow limited access to outsiders. The coastline ownership and access to beaches is unclear although normally, as in the rest of France, open to public. Known for

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

, there is also a commercial area with a restaurant and a shop, along with the luxury ''Hotel & Spa des Pêcheurs''. Only bicycles and electric cars are allowed on the island.

References

External links

Photo of island
{{coord, 41, 22, 6, N, 9, 15, 44, E, type:isle_region:FR, display=title Lavezzi archipelago