Bonifacio, Limestone citadel in southern Corsica, France
Bonifacio is a fortified town sitting on a narrow limestone plateau that rises 70 meters above the Mediterranean at the southern tip of Corsica. Houses crowd close to the edge of the white cliffs, while below a sheltered natural harbor cuts deep between steep rock walls.
Boniface II of Tuscany founded the fortress in 828 to guard against raids from North Africa. Genoa later took control and developed the settlement over centuries into a key stronghold in the western Mediterranean.
Residents here speak a dialect closer to Ligurian than Corsican, a trace of centuries under Genoese rule. Shops and workshops in the old lanes still follow methods handed down through generations, giving the quarter a working character.
Reach the upper town from the harbor by climbing stairs or taking a small tourist train that runs regularly. On windy days take care along paths near the cliff edge, where railings may be absent.
The Escalier du Roi d'Aragon cuts 187 steps down through the cliff face to the sea, supposedly carved in a single night by Aragonese soldiers during a siege. In reality, monks dug the stairway over many years to fetch drinking water from a spring at the base of the cliff.
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