Fort de Matra, Military fortress in Aleria, France
The Fort de Matra is a military fortress on a hilltop with an irregular quadrilateral shape built on two levels around a central courtyard containing a water cistern.
The Genoese built this fortress in the 14th century as a cavalry base to monitor the surrounding plains and passages toward Corte.
Since 1978 the fort has housed the departmental museum of archaeology named after the Roman historian Jérôme Carcopino, a name it took in 1969. Its collection grew from material unearthed at Alalia, the ancient city a few hundred metres away, and from pre-Roman necropolises nearby. The museum holds the Musée de France label.
The site is open daily to visitors with seasonal hours and offers guided tours through fifteen centuries of regional history.
Theodore of Neuhoff, Corsica's sole king, took refuge within these walls after landing on a nearby beach in March 1736.
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