Ajaccio

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Administration
Commune of Ajaccio Image:Porto Ajacio.JPG The port of Ajaccio
Location

Coordinates	41°55′36″N, 8°44′13″E
Country	France
Région	Corse (capital)
Département	Corse-du-Sud (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Ajaccio
Canton	Chief town of 7 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Ajaccien
Mayor	Simon Renucci (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	0 m–787 m (avg. 38 m)
Land area¹	82.03 km²
Population² (1999)	52,880 (Ajacciens)
- Density (1999)	645/km²
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).
Image:Flag of France.svg

Ajaccio (French: Ajaccio; Corsican: Aiacciu), pronounced "ah-YAH-cho", is a town (commune) of France. It is the capital of the territorial collectivity of Corsica and the préfecture (capital) of the département of Corse-du-Sud.

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

[edit] Geography

Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 210 nautical miles 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 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.

[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.

Ajaccio was the birthplace of:

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), Emperor of the French<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896"> (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who.</ref>
Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), cardinal
Tino Rossi (1907-1983), singer, actor
Fred Scamaroni (1914-1943), WW II Resistance hero
Alizée (born 1984), pop singer
Irène Bordoni (1895-1953), singer, Broadway theatre & film actress