Ajaccio

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Coordinates: 41°55′36″N 8°44′13″E / 41.92667, 8.73694

Commune of Ajaccio The port of Ajaccio
Location
Administration
Country	France
Region	Corse (capital)
Department	Corse-du-Sud (prefecture)
Arrondissement	Ajaccio
Canton	Chief town of 7 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Ajaccien
Mayor	Simon Renucci (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	0 m–787 m (avg. 38 m)
Land area¹	82.03 km²
Population² (1999)	52,880 (Ajacciens)
- Density	645/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	2A004 (ex 20004)/ 20000
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Ajaccio (IPA: [ajatʃo], Latin: Adiacium; French: Ajaccio; Corsican: Aiacciu), is a town in France. It is the capital of the territorial collectivity of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Main sights 4 Economy 5 Transport 6 Miscellaneous 7 Personalities 8 References 9 External links 10 Sources and References

[edit] Geography

Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 210 nautical miles (390 km) southeast of Marseille. It occupies a sheltered position at the foot of wooded hills on the northern shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio. The harbour lies to the east of the town and is protected on the south by a peninsula.

[edit] History

See also: Diocese of Ajaccio

The present town of Ajaccio lies about two miles (3 km) to the south of its original site, from which it was transferred by the Genoese in 1492. Occupied from 1553 to 1559 by the French, it again fell to the Genoese after the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in the later year. The town finally passed to the French in 1768.

[edit] Main sights

The peninsula carries the citadel and terminates in the Citadel jetty. To the south-west of this peninsula lies the Place Bonaparte, a quarter frequented chiefly by winter visitors attracted by the mild climate of the town. Apart from one or two fine thoroughfares converging on the Place Bonaparte, the streets are mean and narrow and the town has a deserted appearance.

The house in which Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 is preserved, and his associations with the town are everywhere emphasized by street-names and statues.

The town is also home to Ajaccio Cathedral.

[edit] Economy

Ajaccio has a small manufacturing economy of cigars, macaroni, and similar products, and carries on shipbuilding, sardine-fishing and coral-fishing. Its exports include timber, citrons, skins, chestnuts and gallic acid.

The port is accessible by the largest ships, but its accommodation is indifferent. In 1904 there entered 603 vessels with a tonnage of 202,980, and cleared 608 vessels with a tonnage of 202,502.

[edit] Transport

Ajaccio is served primarily by Campo dell'Oro Airport.

[edit] Miscellaneous

The town is the seat of a bishopric dating at least from the 7th century. It has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, training colleges, a communal college, a museum and a library; the three latter are established in the Palais Fesch, founded by Cardinal Fesch, who was born at Ajaccio in 1763. The local football club is AC Ajaccio & GFCO Ajaccio.

[edit] Personalities

• Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), Emperor of the French^[1]
• Alizée Jacotey (born 1984), Internationally known artist. Highest selling female French singer in 2001. First album went platinum and artist won the 2000 M6 award. ^[2]
• Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), cardinal
• Tino Rossi (1907-1983), singer, actor
• Irène Bordoni (1895-1953), singer, Broadway theatre & film actress
• Jean-Michel Cavalli (1959-?), coach of the Algeria national football team

[edit] References

• 1. ^ (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 

• ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alizee

[edit] External links

• Official website

[edit] Sources and References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

v • d • e  Préfectures of départements of France
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Overseas departments
Cayenne (French Guiana) • Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) • Fort-de-France (Martinique) • Saint-Denis (Réunion)

v • d • e  Préfectures of régions of France

Strasbourg (Alsace) • Bordeaux (Aquitaine) • Clermont-Ferrand (Auvergne) • Dijon (Bourgogne) • Rennes (Bretagne) • Orléans (Centre) • Châlons-en-Champagne (Champagne-Ardenne) • Ajaccio (Corsica) • Besançon (Franche-Comté) • Paris (Île-de-France) • Montpellier (Languedoc-Roussillon) • Limoges (Limousin) • Metz (Lorraine) • Toulouse (Midi-Pyrénées) • Lille (Nord-Pas de Calais) • Caen (Basse-Normandie) • Rouen (Haute-Normandie) • Nantes (Pays de la Loire) • Amiens (Picardie) • Poitiers (Poitou-Charentes) • Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) • Lyon (Rhône-Alpes) Overseas regions Cayenne (French Guiana) • Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) • Fort-de-France (Martinique) • Saint-Denis (Réunion)