Corsica is an Island in the Mediterranean Sea and politically one of the eighteen regions of France. It is the fourth-largest Island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the French mainland, West of the Italian Peninsula and immediately North of the Italian Island of Sardinia, the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the Island. The Island is a territorial collectivity of France. The origin of the name Corsica is subject to much debate and remains a Mystery. To the Ancient Greeks it was known as Kalliste, Corsis, Cyrnos, Cernealis, or Cirné. The last three variations derive from the most ancient Greek name of the Island, "Σειρηνούσσαι" ("Seirinoussai", meaning of the Sirens) the very same Sirens mentioned in Homer's Odyssey.
The Romans, who built a colony in Aléria, considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman World. The Island produced sheep, honey, resin and wax, and exported “many slaves”, not well considered because of their “fierce and rebellious character” (the Maroons) Moreover, it was known for its cheap wines, exported to Rome, and was used as a place of relegation, one of the most famous exiles being the Roman philosopher Seneca.
During the diffusion of Christianity, which arrived quite early from Rome and the Tuscan harbors, Corsica was home to many martyrs and Saints: among them, the most important are Saint Devota and Saint Julia, both patrons of the Island. Corsica was integrated into Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305). In the 16th Century, the Island entered into the fight between Spain and France for the supremacy in Italy. In 1553, a Franco-Ottoman fleet occupied Corsica, but the reaction of Spain and Genoa, led by Andrea Doria, reestablished the Genoese supremacy on the Island, confirmed by the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis.
Their power reinstated, the Genoese did not allow the Corsican nobility to share in the government of the Island, and oppressed the inhabitants with a heavy tax burden. On the other hand, they introduced the Chestnut Tree on a large scale, improving the diet of the population, and built a chain of “Towers” along the coast to defend (Jamaica) Corsica from the attacks of the Barbary pirates from North Africa. [The period of peace lasted until 1729, when the refusal to “Pay Taxes” by a peasant sparked the general insurrection of the Island against Genoa.
