Ajaccio Citadel
The citadel Ajaccio ( Corsican Citatella d'Aiacciu ) is a citadel in Ajaccio , the capital of the island of Corsica .
location
It is located south of the old town of Ajaccio at the port of the city directly on the coast to the Mediterranean Sea .
Architecture and history
The fortification was built from 1492 under Genoese rule. It was supposed to protect the city of Ajaccio from attacks by the sea. The work was carried out under the direction of Cristoforo Gandino on behalf of the Banco di San Giorgio , which was in charge of the administration of Corsica. At first there was only a smaller complex consisting of a keep with a low enclosure. In 1502/03 a moat with a drawbridge was then built and the city wall around Ajaccio was completed. Ajaccio was under French rule between 1553 and 1559, and the facilities were expanded. In 1559, when Corsica fell back to Genoa, the system was reinforced under the direction of the Italian engineer Jacopo Palearo di Morcò and the citadel was spatially separated from the old town. It then has a hexagonal plan and six bastions .
During the Second World War , the citadel was used as a prison. Resistance fighter Fred Scamaroni , who had been captured by the OVRA (Italian secret police), was imprisoned in the citadel . After severe torture, he committed suicide on March 20, 1943 and cut his throat with an iron wire. In his own blood he left the message: I said nothing, long live France, long live de Gaulle.
On July 18, 1975, the citadel was registered as a Monument historique and is listed under the number PA00099062.
The citadel was in use by the French armed forces until 2005 when it was handed over to the city of Ajaccio. There are considerations to enable changed uses and to make the citadel accessible to the public.
At the entrance to the citadel on the west side there is a monument to the French general Pierre Lelong .
Web links
- Citadel of Ajaccio on www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr
- MONUMENTS ET ARCHITECTURES on www.ajaccio.fr (French)
- Entry no.PA00099062 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ CELLULE DE SCAMARONI DANS LA CITADELLE D'AJACCIO on museedelaresistanceenligne.org (French)
- ↑ Citadella d'Ajaccio on www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr (French)
Coordinates: 41 ° 55 '0.9 " N , 8 ° 44' 22.9" E