Erbalunga or Erbalonga is an ancient fishing village on Cap Corse, in the municipality of

Brando Brando may refer to: People * Marlon Brando (1924–2004), American actor ** Christian Brando (1958–2008), son of Marlon Brando ** Marlon_Brando#Final_years_and_death, Miko C. Brando, Marlon Brando's son and Michael Jackson's one-time friend, bod ...

in the French department of

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged w ...

, Corsica. The village of Erbalonga is the most northerly coastal settlement of Cap Corse, with vertiginous roads and sloping maquis beyond.

History

The region of Cap Corse has been occupied since antiquity—the geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

called it the "Sacred Promontory" (''sacrem promontorium''). In

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

, Erbalunga began exporting wine and olive oil from the 11th century, becoming more important as a trading centre than Ajaccio or

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

. As nobles from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and Pisa vied between themselves for financial control over Corsica, a fortress was built at Erbalunga; it was granted a

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

in 1438, on the death of the nobleman Mathieu de Gentile, ruled over by the de Gentile family in their ''

palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

'' on the main square (''Place Charles de Gaulle''). In the 1550s, following long-standing internecine disputes, the de Gentile family lost control of Cap Corse, with French troops destroying the port in 1557. The site still dominates the surviving 16th-century Genoese Torra d'Erbalunga, set on a rock below the sea. The partially ruined tower bears a plaque dated 1561 and is listed as a French

historical 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 ...

. Modern Erbalunga comprises the quarters of Poggiolo and Curcianella to the south together with Foce and Sicolu to the north. The historic quarters have the Corsican names Calellu, Torre, Cima, Trave, Scalu, Casanova, Piandifora and Concia. With old stone-walled houses built directly on to the harbour and plain, laurel and palm trees shading its flowered squares, Erbalunga retains the character and charm of a small fishing port. Nevertheless, from the 12th to the 18th century, it was one of the main ports of Corsica. During the 1930s, the port became an artists' colony, nicknamed the ''Collioure du Cap'', with painters attracted by its fishing boats and vibrant colours. The village church of St Erasmus, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of sailors, has a baroque facade. In the chapel adjacent to the church are 14th-century frescoes, depicting St Catherine and

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. The frescoes are also designated as French historical monuments. The harbour provides shelter for the chapel of the ''"Madona del Carmine"'' and its cemetery. Religious events, centred on St Erasmus, include the carrying of the Cross by penitents on Good Friday—a ceremony called ''Cerca'', originating from an ancient fertility rite—and a procession celebrating his saint's day (2 June) with a blessing of the sea. In August there is a regular music festival (''Festival de Musique d'Erbalunga'') with open-air concerts in the main square. To the north of Erbalunga, in the Cintulino district, is the Benedictine monastery of the

Holy Sacrament There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those ...

(''Monastère des Bénédictines du Saint-Sacrement'') for

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s, founded in 1862. The convent church was constructed between 1883 and 1887 and dedicated to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. The associated girls boarding school operated between 1899 and 1963. The monastery was converted into an institute in 1951.

Gallery

File:Brando-Couvent-Benedictines.jpg, Benedictine monastery File:Brando-Couvent-entree.jpg, Entrance to the monastery File:Brando-Erbalunga.jpg, Marine view of Erbalunga File:Brando-marine Erbalunga.jpg, The harbour File:Brando-passe port Erbalunga.jpg, Harbour entrance File:Erbalonga 01.JPG, Erbalunga from above File:Brando-Erbalunga_Torre.jpg, A side alley File:Erbalunga 1.jpg, House in Erbalunga

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Corsica Haute-Corse