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 Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) 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 lies southeast of ...

. The corresponding departmental

territorial collectivity A territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale, previously '), or territorial authority, is a chartered subdivision of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any subdivision (subnational entity) wi ...

merged with that 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 collect ...

on 1 January 2018, forming the

single territorial collectivity A single territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale unique) is a chartered subdivision of France that exercises the powers of both a region and a department. This subdivision was introduced in Mayotte in 2011, in French Guia ...

of Corsica, with territorial elections coinciding with the dissolution of the separate councils. However, even though its administrative powers were ceded to the new territorial collectivity, it continues to remain an administrative department in its own right. In 2019, it had a population of 181,933.Populations légales 2019: 2B Haute-Corse
INSEE

History

Haute-Corse department relief location map

The department was formed on 1 January 1976, when the department of Corsica was divided into Upper Corsica (''Haute-Corse'') and Southern Corsica (''

''). The department corresponds exactly to the former department of Golo, which existed between 1793 and 1811. On 6 July 2003, a referendum on increased autonomy was voted down by a very thin majority: 50.98 percent against to 49.02 percent for. This was a major setback for French Minister of the Interior

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, who had hoped to use Corsica as the first step in his decentralization policies. On 1 January 2018, Haute-Corse's administrative powers were partly ceded to the new territorial collectivity of Corsica.

Geography

The department is surrounded on three sides by 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 ea ...

and on the south by the department of Corse-du-Sud. Rivers include the

Abatesco }) is a French coastal river which flows through the Haute-Corse department and empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Geography The watercourse is long. The Abatesco originates south of the summit of Monte Formicola, which is high, at an altitude ...

, Golo and

Tavignano The Tavignano (; co, Tavignanu) is a river on the island of Corsica, France. Course The Tavignano is long. In antiquity the river was known as the ''Rhotanus'' or Ῥότανος. It crosses the communes of Aléria, Altiani, Antisanti, Casama ...

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

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 ...

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The people living in the department are called ''Supranacci''.

Politics

The current

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Haute-Corse is François Ravier, who took office on 3 June 2019.

Current National Assembly representatives

Tourism

File:VP-nuit.jpg,

File:Depuis la Serra.jpg, Calvi seen from Notre-Dame de la Serra File:Sant'Antonino Vi1JPG.jpg,

Sant'Antonino Sant'Antonino is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Bellinzona (district), Bellinzona in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Sant'Antonino is first mentioned in 1219 as ''Sancto Ant ...

, one of the most beautiful villages of France File:Saleccia 2004 1.jpg, Désert des Agriates File:Riviere-restonica.jpg,

Restonica The Restonica is a small river in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is a tributary of the river Tavignano. The river has a steep and rocky course with many pools and waterfalls. The valley contains two lakes, and is a popular tou ...

Gorge

Notes

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
* *
Corsica Isula
{{Authority control 1976 establishments in France Departments of Corsica Corsica region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia States and territories established in 1976