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Origin and history

The San Francescu di Caccia convent, located on the road between Castifao and Moltifao at the Caccia pass (493 m above sea level), was founded in 1510 by Franciscan monks, called zoccultanti because of their quest sandals. Originally built in wood under the name of luoco, it was destroyed in 1553 by Genoese troops of General Doria during the conflicts with Sampiero Corso, then rebuilt in 1569 by Brother Agustinu di a Pupulasca. The first church, consecrated in 1569, housed the relics of Saints Costanza and Grato, before a second was built in 1750 to welcome the ever more numerous faithful.

The convent played a major political role in Corsican history. In April 1755 Pasquale Paoli gathered there the Consulta de Caccia, an assembly of Corsican deputies who laid the foundations for the Constitution of independent Corsica. The superior of the convent, RP. Apostolis, a friend of Paoli, supported this approach. After the French annexation in 1769, the convent became the seat of one of the four administrative juntas established by the new power, even housing courts and military members of the Provincial Corse Regiment. The cellars were then used as a place of interrogation under torture.

The French Revolution marked a tragic turning point: the convent was looted, ruined, and its goods sold at auction. His furniture was scattered in neighbouring villages, as the painting of La Cène today preserved in Moltifao. It was transformed into a municipal cemetery in 1824 despite opposition from the Domains, and underwent a brief renaissance under the Anglo-Corse kingdom (1794–96), before being permanently abandoned. The Saint Francis church, classified as a Historic Monument in 1979, has been the subject of restorations since the 1990s by the association San Francescu di Caccia.

The site preserves the memory of the major events of Corsica, as seen in 1743, 1744 (mission of reconciliation of San Leonardo di Porto Maurizio), or 1757, where Paoli discussed neutrality in the face of Franco-English conflicts. The ruins also bear witness to the last fighting of the paolist partisans in 1774, led by Cervoni and Pasqualini. Today, the convent symbolizes both Corsican resistance and Franciscan religious heritage, in a natural environment preserved between mountains and forests.

Architecturally, the convent was organized in U around a square courtyard, with two vaulted floors: the ground floor housed refectory, kitchen and infirmary, while the upper floor was reserved for the monks' cells. The cloister, with arches on pilasters, opened on the courtyard. The early church, with a single nave and deep choir, was replaced after its partial collapse in 1782. Its facade, chanted with pilasters and crowned with a triangular pediment, reflects the sober style of island religious buildings.

The convent is part of a territory marked by Genoese history and Corsican revolts. Close to the Paganosa Tower (1606) and the Genoese bridges on the Tartagine River, it was a strategic location of the Caccia Pier, the political and religious centre of the region. Its decline in the 19th century coincided with the transformation of Corsican administrative structures, but its legacy persisted through local festivals, such as the Santa Maria Assunta of 15 August, and the heritage trails highlighting the remains of the piève.

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