Calvi history · History of Calvi
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History of Calvi
History of Calvi
Because of the Corsica's strategic location, Calvi has a rich and chequered history. The earliest found remains of settlers in Calvi date back to the Neolithic period, in one of its many caves.
The first real recorded history of the settling of Calvi was around 1000BC, when the Romans brought agriculture to the land. Since then, Calvi has been invaded many times, giving rise to the popular saying souvent conquis, jamais soumis (often conquered, never enslaved). Until 1729, Calvi was part of the Genoese empire, leading to the legend that Christopher Columbus supposedly came from there (there is a large statue at the foot of the citadel that commemorates this legend).
The anarchist uprising against the Genoese led by Pascal Paoli from 1729 to 1768, and the shortly independent Corsica as a whole, was not supported by Calvi, which retains a very cosmopolitan feel, as opposed to the strictly Corsican feel of the old capital Corte, even today.
Admiral Nelson lost his right eye at Calvi during the siege of the citadel.
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Calvi Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.