Bonifacio and the Land of Laestrygonians

Bonifacio (Corsican:  Gunifaziu) is a beautiful city in the southernmost tip of Corsica.  The city was built on high cliffs that surround a channel that serves as its harbor.  The city has two sections the Old town (Vieux Ville) and the Upper City (Haute Ville) that was built on the site of the citadel a 9^th century fort that overlooks the straits of Bonifacio.   

Bonifacio has all the characteristics of the site where Ulysses had his encounter with the Laestrygonians (Greek: Λαιστρυγόνες).  Homer tells us that Odysseus and his men arrived in a dozen boats at the “rocky stronghold” known as Lamos.  The ships entered the harbor that was surrounded by steep cliffs and had a single entrance.  Odysseus kept his own ship outside the harbor and sent two of his men to make contact with the locals. The men followed a road and met a young woman who was the daughter of Antiphates, the king, and directed them to his house. However, when they got there Antiphates snatched and killed one of the men, and drank his blood.  Antiphates and thousands of Laestrygonians, who were giants, preceded launching vast rocks from the cliffs, smashing eleven of the twelve ships, and speared the men like fish.  

Odysseus made his escape due to the fact that he moored in a cove near the entrance of the harbor.  Odysseus watched in horror, as the rest of his men were lost to the cannibals. 

Corsica - Καλλιστη

We reached Propriano in the late morning thrust by moderately strong winds.  Our attempt to enter the harbor by sails was stressful as we were not familiar with its layout.  My brother’s experience of reaching moorings under sail helped to a successful landing while avoiding causing damage to either the boat or injury to us. 

As soon as we found a berth in the marina and looked around it was obvious that Corsica is a beautiful island.  In addition to its beaches it has many mountains that occupy the central part of the island.  The Ancient Greeks knew and called Corsica Kalliste, that meant beautiful or the best.  In 260 BC Corsica together with Sardinia were incorporated into the Roman Republic.  Romans used it as a place to send their exiles with the most famous one being the philosopher Seneca.  In the 5^th century, Corsica experienced a massive immigration from Tuscany, that influenced its culture and the language spoken by the locals which is very close to Tuscany’s dialect although French is now days the lingua franca.

Wonderful villages like Olmeto are to be found on the mountains in the central part of the island that are characterized by their dense vegetation (maquis). Maquis shrubland is a biome in the Mediterranean region. The name has been adopted by a variety of guerrilla movements as the density of the bush provided protection.  It was in those inaccessible sites that bandits flourished and assisted in the promulgation of vendettas between families that lasted for several generations long after the cause that started them was forgotten. The vendetta was associated with the expectation for family members to take revenge and lasted until nobody remained to be killed.  The bandits d’ honneur were the protectors of the weak and the terror of the strong.  When vendettas were in their peak village activities ceased and families barricaded themselves in their homes for long periods of time.  

In Olmeto we observed a game played with metal balls the Italians call Bocce and the French Pétanque.  Although the game was developed in its present form in Italy its origins trace back to ball games played in Ancient Rome.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) is the most famous son of Corsica.  He belonged to a relatively modest family of noble Italian ancestry from Tuscany.  Napoleon was one of the greatest commanders in history, and his campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide.  He won most of the wars he was involved in and the vast majority of his battles, rapidly gaining control of continental Europe before his ultimate defeat in 1815 at Waterloo.