Sagone or Saone is a small seaside resort on the west coast of 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 ...
in the
commune of
Vico.
The settlement dates back to the 4th century, when a Roman villa was built there, with other buildings for slaves or peasants.
A Christian church was built in the 5th or 6th century, later abandoned.
A new cathedral was built in the 12th century, seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sagone
The Diocese of Sagone was a Catholic Church in France, Roman Catholic diocese in France, located in the city of Sagone, Corsica. In 1801, it was suppressed, and its Catholic population assigned to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajaccio, Archdiocese ...
.
The Genoese built a tower in the 16th century to defend Sagone against
Barbary pirates
The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...
.
The cathedral had been abandoned by the 18th century, and the town was deserted.
The tower was badly damaged in 1811 during an attack by the British.
Today the village is growing again due to tourism.
Location

Sagone is on the west coast of Corsica on the Anse de Sagone, a bay in the Golfe de Sagone, to the north of
Ajaccio
Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...
.
It is in the commune of
Vico.
The D81 coastal road connects the village to
Cargèse
Cargèse (; or ; ; ) is a village and '' commune'' in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 27 km north of Ajaccio. , the commune had a population of 1,325.
The village was established at the ...
to the west and to Ajaccio to the south.
The
Sagone River flows through the town into the Anse de Sagone.
The Gulf of Sagone extends from Capo di Feno in the south to Cargese in the North, and is known for its sandy beaches which include a beach beside the village of Sagone.
The Sagone valley is the most northerly of the watersheds in the
Liamone landscape.
The lower valley has large beaches and gentle relief, and is urbanized along its coastal fringe, with an almost continuous constructed line.
Behind the seaside resort there are some remains of the city of Sagone, a Roman colony and later the seat of a bishopric, that was abandoned before the 16th century due to
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
epidemics and barbarian raids.
Residential housing estates have been developed on the side of the Capu a u Bellu, the site of the Genoese tower, somewhat spoiling the landscape.
In 2021 militants of the nationalist ''Core in Fronte'' organization denounced the public auction of three sites on the subdivision beside the Genoese Tower.
They noted that the largest and most expensive site was in the immediate vicinity of the tower, and its high price could only be due to speculation that building would be allowed.
A spokesman had earlier stated, "We have never built as many homes as in the last six years, more than 5,000 per year. Corsica is demographically suffocated with a colonization of population which is changing the matrix of the Corsican people".
Archaeology
In the fourth century a rural villa-type establishment was built on the site of the present Sagone Cathedral.
Nearby, towards the coast, there were baths, accommodations for slaves or peasants, and a necropolis.
The first Christian church was built on the ruins of the villa in the 5th or 6th century, dedicated to
Saint Appian
Amphian (Latin: Amphianus, Greek: Αμφιανός) is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic Church and by the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is said to have died during the persecutions of the Emperor Galerius on April 2 in or around the year 305 ...
.
When the cruciform baptistery was excavated the archaeologists found the episcopal throne and 38 coins from the end of the 6th century.
An inscription found on a tile read ''Sanctus Appianus iubante Deo Paulus fecit'' (Saint Appien, by the will of God, made by Paulus).
After the mausoleum was abandoned it was used to store garbage, and excavators have found ceramics from the Carthage region, coins, pearls, belt buckles and glass lamps.
From the 7th century to the 10th century there was little activity.
More than 70 graves have been found, dating from the 2nd to the 10th century, include burial of ashes in
amphora
An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...
e, tombs where the corpse was covered by tiles forming a double-pitched roof (the most common form), later tombs in stone bases, and cases where the body was placed directly into the ground.
The religious site was reactivated in the 12th century.
The cathedral dedicated to Saint Appian, bishop and martyr, was probably built in the first quarter of the 12th century, as were all the cathedrals on the island.
There are two
menhir
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...
s in the masonry of the Romanesque cathedral that date back to the Neolithic period.
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...
(1555–1559) authorized the Cathedral of Sagone to adopt the Virgin Mary of the Assumption as its patron saint.
The building was affected by the frequent absence of the bishops and the wars by the lords of Leca against Genoa and North African incursions, and became dilapidated.
In 1728 Bishop Giustiniani charged the master mason Bernardino Pardini with partially rebuilding the cathedral.
This was completed in 1730.
However the building was soon abandoned.
In the 1960s a roof was installed over part of the ruined cathedral, oriented north–south.
The ruins were inscribed as Historic Monuments on 4 September 1989.
An archaeological park is planned to open in the spring of 2022 including the remains of the cathedral, the tombs, an interpretation center and a green theater.
In 2020 there were plans to restore the original east–west orientation of the building.
Diocese
Ferdinando Ughelli (1595–1670) states that after the devastation of the island by the Saracens (Arabs)
Pope Paschal I
Pope Paschal I (; died 824) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 January 817 to his death in 824.
Paschal was a member of an aristocratic Roman family. Before his election to the papacy, he was abbot of St. Stephen's monas ...
(817–824) erected five bishoprics on the island, Sagone among them.
In 1123, at a Lateran Council,
Pope Callixtus II
Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy ...
consecrated a bishop for the Church of Sagona.
In 1179 a bishop of Sagone was present at the Lateran Council of
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...
and subscribed its decrees.
By 1751 the town of Sagone was in ruins and uninhabited.
The bishop lived in
Vico, a small town of some 800 inhabitants, under the civil government of Genoa.
The corporation of the Cathedral Chapter still existed, with two dignities and six canons.
In Vico there was one monastery of men.
On 29 November 1801, following the agreement on the
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...
between First Consul
Bonaparte and
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
, the diocese of Sagona was suppressed by the Pope, and its territory and Catholic population assigned to the
Archdiocese of Ajaccio.
Bishops included:
*
Agostino Fieschi (r. 1510–1528)
*
Imperiale Doria (r. 1528–1544)
*
Benedetto Rezzani (r. 1635–1639)
*
Giovanni Battista Federici (r. 1655–1657)
*
Giovanni Battista Costa (r. 1688–1714)
Defenses

The
Torra di Sagone (Tower of Sagone) is a partially ruined
Genoese tower
The Genoese towers in Corsica (, , singular : , also ; ) are a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates.
Corsica had been controlled by the Genoese since 1284 whe ...
on the west side of the Anse de Sagone.
The tower is privately owned and in 1974 was listed as one of the official
historical monuments of France.
In the 16th century the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
built many fortresses around the island of Corsica to guard against threats from the
Barbary pirates
The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...
.
In 1566 an embassy sent by
Sampiero Corso
Sampiero Corso (, born Sampiero da Bastelica; 1498 – 17 January 1567) was a Corsican soldier, father of the Marshal of France Alphonse d'Ornano.
Early career
Born in Bastelica as a common man (although his mother was of the lower nobility), ...
to the court of
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
was massacred by the Genoese in front of the Tower of Sagone.
The present tower was built in 1581 and replaced the earlier tower.
During the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, on 30 April 1811 the British ships , and , commanded by
Robert Barrie
Sir Robert Barrie (5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841) was a British naval officer noted for his service in the War of 1812. He was helped early in his naval career by the patronage of his uncle, Sir Alan Gardner, who arranged for him to take part ...
, found three French ships laden with wood for the naval arsenal at
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department.
The Commune of Toulon h ...
that had taken refuge in the Bay of Sagone.
The French vessels were anchored under the protection of a shore battery of four guns and a mortar, the
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...
armed with a gun overlooking the battery, and some 200 troops with field pieces, assisted by armed local inhabitants, all on a heights overlooking the vessels.
The French vessels were ''Giraffe'', of 26 guns, , of 24 guns, and the armed merchant vessel ''Henriette''.
The next day Captain
Robert Barrie
Sir Robert Barrie (5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841) was a British naval officer noted for his service in the War of 1812. He was helped early in his naval career by the patronage of his uncle, Sir Alan Gardner, who arranged for him to take part ...
of ''Pomone'' had boats from ''Pomone'' and ''Scout'' tow their ships close to the French vessels.
After a 90-minute engagement, ''Giraffe'' and ''Nourrice'' caught fire.
(French records report that their crews set the two vessels on fire to prevent their being captured and then abandoned them.)
Brands from ''Nourrice'' set fire to the merchant vessel.
Barrie had the British withdraw, awaiting the explosion of the French vessels.
The battery and the tower fell silent.
Shortly thereafter the ''Giraffe'' exploded, and then so did ''Nourrice''.
Some of the timbers from ''Nourrice'' fell on the tower, demolishing it, with further sparks setting fire to the shore battery, which also blew up.
With nothing left to accomplish, the British withdrew.
The action cost the British two men killed and 25 wounded, including three men wounded on ''Scout''.
After this Napoleon ordered construction of new batteries to make the anchorage safer so as to protect the supply of wood to the
Toulon arsenal
The military port of Toulon () is the principal base of the French Navy and the largest naval base in the Mediterranean and Western Europe, situated in the city of Toulon. It holds most of France's force d'action navale, comprising the aircraf ...
.
The four companies in Ajaccio, Saint-Florent, Capraïa and Cap-Corse were told to defend this sensitive point in rotation, but only 100 men were present at any time.
In September 1811 the Minister of War
Clarke
Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name.
Irish surname origin
Clarke is a common surname ...
, Duke of Felltre, submitted a plan for organization of the artillery of the Grande Armée and the coastal artillery service.
Sagone, considered to be one of the eighteen most vulnerable points on the Empire's coast, was to receive 20 guns and to be defended by a line artillery company.
The battery was sited at Dordona.
In 1857 the battery, which now had no value, was assigned to the bridges and roads organization.
Today it has been absorbed by the buildings of the seaside resort of Sagone.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagone
Villages in Corsica