Îles Sanguinaires
| Îles Sanguinaires | ||
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| Waters | Mediterranean Sea | |
| Geographical location | 41 ° 53 ' N , 8 ° 36' E | |
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| Number of islands | 4th | |
| Main island | Grande Sanguinaire | |
| Total land area | 0.4 km² | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
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The Îles Sanguinaires ("bloody islands"), Corsican Ìsuli Sanguinarii , are a group of four small islands at the entrance of the Gulf of Ajaccio on the north side. The islands are made of red-brown porphyry .
Location and access
The islands are lined up from southwest to northeast a few kilometers from the Pointe de la Parata headland . They are called Grande Sanguinaire ( Mezu Mare ), Îlot de Cala d'Alga , Île de l'Oga ( Île des Cormorans ) and Île de Porri . Between Île de l'Oga and Île de Porri , the bare rock U Sbiru protrudes about 13.0 m out of the water. The Pointe de la Parata headland is part of the Réseau des Grands Sites de France network .
From Ajaccio, the Route des Sanguinaires leads about 10.0 km along the seashore to the car park near the Pointe de la Parata . The number 5 bus runs from Place Charles de Gaulle in Ajaccio to this car park. Opposite the parking lot is a landing stage, from where excursion boats go over to the islands. Boat trips to the Îles Sanguinaires are also offered from the port in Ajaccio.
history
Surname
The origin of the name is unclear. There are several theories as to where it comes from:
- From the glowing purple red of the rocks in the evening light;
- from the red of the flowers of Frankenia and Acis .
- Ancient geographic sources suggest that it refers to the place Sagone ; until 1572 bishopric and much more important than today. The name isule sagunarie can be found on old maps . The islands are halfway between Ajaccio and the Gulf of Sagone.
literature
Numerous travel reports mention the Îles Sanguinaires. In 1863 Alphonse Daudet (1840–1897) lived in the lighthouse on Grande Sanguinaire. Le phare des Sanguinaires is one of the best-known articles from his Lettres de mon moulin . There he describes the construction work on the lighthouse and his impressions of nature on the islands.
Buildings
The human presence manifested itself in the 16th century in a Genoese tower , which was replaced by the lighthouse from 1838. The Genoese tower Tour de La Parata , built between 1550 and 1551, was preserved on the headland; today one of the most visited Genoese towers in Corsica.
In 1806 a military hospital was built on the main island of Grande Sanguinaire . It was used to quarantine sailors and soldiers returning from Africa with infectious diseases. In 1847 it was decommissioned and then fell into disrepair.
The construction of the lighthouse on Mezu Mare took six years, from 1838 to 1844. In 1985 it was automated. With that the last resident left the island. A signal house was also put into operation on the main island in 1865. In 1955 it was decommissioned.
Changing ownership
The main island of Mezu mare was owned by the Ponte family for three centuries. She had initially leased it from the Republic of Genoa in 1640 for 40 Genoese lira, combined with the obligation to build a house there and plant at least 12,000 vines, 600 trees and grain. From 1935 to 1959 it finally came into the possession of a real estate company through several resales. They planned the construction of two hotels, a marina, some sports and entertainment venues and even a cable car over to the islands. The plans failed because the islands were added to the list of specially protected sites in 1936. In 1973 the company sold to the regional administration.
environment
Natura 2000
The Îles Sanguinaires are classified as a marine reserve within Natura 2000 . The harsh marine ecosystem provides a home for marine birds and flora rich in rare endemic species . It's rare in such a small space: around 150 species grow on Mezu Mare . The shrub vegetation grows low, due to the proximity to the sea, and is dominated by the mastic shrub . A halophilic leek , Corsican porro , thrives on I Porri and is the name given to this small island.
Natural zone of particular importance
The islands and the Pointe de la Parata are jointly classified as a natural zone of particular importance for the environment, fauna and flora.
TV movie
- Les Sanguinaires (1998)
References and comments
- ^ Réseau des Grands Sites de France - Membres. In: grandsitedefrance.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018 (French).
- ↑ a b Histoire de la Corse: les Îles Sanguinaires. March 24, 2011, accessed May 25, 2018 (French).
- ^ Pascal YA Vigneron: Acis. In: amaryllidaceae.org. Retrieved May 25, 2018 (French, A genus of the Amaryllidaceae family ).
- ↑ a b c Le Phare des Sanguinaires. In: alphonsedaudet.org (Les amis de Daudet). Retrieved May 25, 2018 (French).
- ↑ Patrimoine bâti | Opération Grand Site :: Les iles Sanguinaires et la Parata. In: parata-sanguinaires.com. Retrieved May 25, 2018 (French).
- ^ Laurent Marcangeli, Jean-Pierre Luciani: Label Grand Site de France / Grand Site Îles Sanguinaires - pointe de la Parata . Candidature dossier. Ed .: Syndicat mixte du Grand Site des ÎIes Sanguinaires et de la pointe de la Parata. March 2017, p. 16 (French, grandsitedefrance.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Îles Sanguinaires. In: Le Réseau Natura 2000. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011 ; accessed on May 25, 2018 (French).
- ^ Official French name: Zone naturelle d'intérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique; ZNIEFF
- ↑ ZNIEFF 940004131 - Îles Sanguinaires, Punta di Parata, A Botte - Description. Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, accessed on May 25, 2018 (French).