Calvi (; ; ; ) is a ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' in the

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 wi ...

department of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 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 ...

. It is the seat of the Canton of Calvi, which contains Calvi and one other ''commune'', Lumio. Calvi is also the capital of the Arrondissement of Calvi, which contains, besides the Canton of Calvi, three other cantons:

L'Île-Rousse L'Île-Rousse (; co, Lìsula, , or , ; it, Isola Rossa, ; ) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. It was founded in 1758 by Pasquale Paoli to create a port that would not be in the hands of the Geno ...

Belgodère Belgodère (; it, Belgodere; co, Bargudè) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. Population See also * Torra di Lozari *Communes of the Haute-Corse department The following is a list of the 236 ...

, and Calenzana. According to legend,

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

supposedly came from Calvi, which at the time was part of the

Genoese Empire The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

. Because the often subversive elements of the island gave its inhabitants a bad reputation, he would have been expected to mask his exact birthplace.

Geography

Calvi is located on the northwest coast of the island of

, from

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 ...

and from

. It is the fifth-largest commune in Corsica; however, the arrondissement is the smallest.

Climate

Calvi has a

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Csa''). The average annual temperature in Calvi is . The average annual rainfall is with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in February, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Calvi was on 29 July 1983; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 30 January 1963.

History

Calvi was founded in the 13th century. Its motto, "''Calvi semper fidelis''" ("Calvi Always Faithful"), referred originally to its loyalty to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

, which instated there a closed city centre (''préside'') in 1278, and built a new castle in 1491 to face new

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

technologies. The motto originates from 1553 when Calvi repulsed two attacks by the French and Turks, aided by Corsican exiles. During the war with

Revolutionary France The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, British forces under

Admiral Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

and Lieutenant-General Charles Stuart captured the city in the

Siege of Calvi The siege of Calvi was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the Invasion of Corsica in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, a ...

in 1794. It was during the bombardment of Calvi that Nelson sustained the injury that cost him his eye. The town was retaken by Corsicans the following year.

Population

Economy

The economy of Calvi is essentially based on summer

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, which started in 1950 due to the pioneering efforts of

Vladimir Raitz Vladimir Gavrilovich Raitz (23 May 1922 – 31 August 2010) was a Russian-born British businessman who co-founded the Horizon Holiday Group, which pioneered the first mass package holidays abroad. Born in Moscow, his family were White Russian J ...

Transport

Calvi is served by the international

Calvi - Sainte-Catherine Airport Calvi may refer to: Places and jurisdictions France * Arrondissement of Calvi, Haute-Corse department, Corsica * Calvi, Haute-Corse, a city and commune of the Haute-Corse ''département'' on the island of Corsica Italy * Calvi, Campania, a '' ...

, the Xavier Colonna Port, and a metre-gauge

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

and

Ponte-Leccia Ponte Leccia (; or Ponte-Leccia) is a French village, part of the municipality (''commune'') of Morosaglia, in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica. Its name in Corsican language is U Ponte à a Leccia. Geography Situated at the confluence be ...

, connecting with the standard gauge main line

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

Monuments

Tour du Sel The Tower of Calvi ( co, Torra di Calvi) is a Genoese tower in the commune of Calvi (Haute-Corse) on the Corsica. The tower was one of a series of coastal defences built by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by ...

and the citadel *

Église Sainte-Marie de Calvi Église Sainte-Marie de Calvi is a church in Calvi, Haute-Corse, Corsica. The building was classified as a Historic Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has b ...

References

External links

Official website
File:Calvi Port 1.jpg, The port citadel viewed from the port File:Corsica-calvi-panorama.jpg, The port, panoramic view from the

Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

File:Depuis la Serra.jpg, Calvi panorama File:Calvi West.JPG, Calvi viewed from the sea Communes of Haute-Corse Haute-Corse communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Subprefectures in France Mediterranean port cities and towns in France {{HauteCorse-geo-stub