L'Île-Rousse (; , , or , ; , ; ) is a
commune in the
Haute-Corse
Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single ter ...
department of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
on the island of
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
.
It was founded in 1758 by
Pasquale Paoli to create a port that would not be in the hands of the
Genoese (such as
Calvi). As
Italian was until 1848 the administrative language of Corsica, the town was originally named ''Isola Rossa'' (Red Island) from the eponymous reddish color of a rocky islet that served as a natural harbor.
Along with
Saint-Florent and
Tox, it is one of only three communes in the
département to have a French name — all the others have kept their Italian names despite the repeated demands of Corsican nationalists to change the names of all communes to their native Corsican names.
History
Inhabited since very ancient times (between 5000-3000 BC), l'Île-Rousse was in 1000 BC a small, prosperous town called Agilla; it was dependent on
Tyre in
Phoenicia
Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
. Destroyed by the Phoenician fleet of Calaris (
Galeria), Agilla came under Roman rule as Rubico Rocega (red rock) until the 4th century AD. Being so close to the sea, it was threatened by pirates and other potential enemies, and was not inhabited for several centuries except for fishermen and peasants who lived on the products of the sea and earth around the villages of
Santa Reparata and
Monticello.
In the 17th century, merchants from
Santa-Reparata-di-Balagna established shops to trade by sea with the coastal villages of the
Balagne,
Nebbio, and the west of the
Cap Corse. About 1759,
Pasquale Paoli, who often came to Balagne, decided to equip Corsica with a port in the northwest of the island to try to cut the sea traffic between
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
and
Calvi. His plans prepared, he persuaded the Balagne government, sitting in
Algajola, to authorize him to create a fort protecting the port (the Scalu) on 10 December 1765. L’Île-Rousse was born from this decision.
Climate
L'Île-Rousse has a cold semi-arid climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BSk'') closely bordering on a
hot-summer mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Csa''). The average annual temperature in L'Île-Rousse 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 L'Île-Rousse was on 5 July 1993; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 28 December 1996.
Description
Built on a bay bounded to the northwest by the rocky islets of red
porphyry which give it its name, and to the south by an immaculate white sand beach, l’Île-Rousse is presented to the tourist in all its beauty, extending westwards from the sea to the hill of the Sémaphore and the col de Fogata.
The old town of Pascal Paoli, le Père de la Patrie (the Father of the Fatherland), is made up of paved streets, almost rectilinear and oriented north-south. From the quays of the commercial port installed on 3 of the 6 small islands, the fishing port and the bridges which link the harbor complex to the coast and the market with its twenty one columns, the fortifications and the houses of the old city grew over the years, from 1765 into the first half of the 19th century.
Certain houses with their interior
Florentine staircases are remarkable. The first church built in 1740 and destroyed in 1936 gave its name to the rue Notre-Dame. The church dedicated to Notre Dame de Miséricorde is next to an old
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
convent, while the parish church of l’Île-Rousse, the
Immaculée Conception de Marie, is on the west of the main square, with its enormous
date palms (planted 1890) in the shade of which it is good to play a game of ''
pétanque
Pétanque (, ; ; ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports (along with Raffa (boules), raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, Bowls, lawn bowls, and Crown green bowls, crown green bowling). In these sports, players or teams play thei ...
''.
The new town blends harmoniously with the old at the place Paoli, shaded by hundred year old
plane trees
''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.
All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...
, where it is good to take the summer air. The old town offers visitors the chance to stroll on the old paving stones, partly restored, along streets with historic names:
Pasquale Paoli,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, ''les frères'' Arena (Arena brothers),
Louis Philippe, Agilla..
Built by Pascal Paoli, equipped by its municipal officials, after 1815 with a
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
decorated with the royal
fleur-de-lis
The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
of France and run for than a half-century by elected
Bonapartist officials, l’Île-Rousse is a town with a share in the history of Corsica. Its contradictions make it an attractive and unexpected place for the tourists who come each year to sit down under the plane trees of its beautiful central square.
Population
Notable people
*
Pasquale Paoli
*
See also
*
Communes of the Haute-Corse department
The following is a list of the 236 Communes of France, communes of the Haute-Corse Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
External links
Official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilerousse
Communes of Haute-Corse
Populated places established in 1758
Haute-Corse communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
Populated coastal places in France