Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The city of Aleria was founded around 565 B.C. by the Phoceans, Greeks of Asia Minor, on the eastern coast of Corsica. It became a prosperous commercial counter, nicknamed Alalia and became a Mediterranean hub, attracting Etruscans and Carthaginians. Archaeological excavations revealed an Etruscan necropolis (500–259 B.C.) and traces of a flourishing Roman city, capital of the island under the Empire, with a forum, thermal baths and an active port.

In 259 BC, Aleria was conquered by Rome and transformed into a military colony under Sylla. It became an administrative and religious center, hosting the seat of the imperial procurator and the first cathedral of Corsica, dedicated to Saint-Marcel. The city declined from the fifth century, ravaged by vandal invasions and malaria, which made the plain uninhabitable until the 20th century. The Genoese tried unsuccessfully to restore it in the 15th-17th centuries.

The current archaeological site, classified as a historical monument in 1990, includes Greek remains (reparts), Romans (villages, therms of Santa Laurina) and medievals (fort de Matra, 14th century). The latter, built by the Genoese to monitor the coast, played a key role during the Corsican revolts (1729, 1736) and now houses the Jérôme-Carcopino Museum, where 8,000 years of local history are exhibited, from Greek ceramics to Roman objects.

In the Middle Ages, Aleria was an influential bishopric, despite its demographic decline. The plain was not rehabilitated until after 1945, thanks to the eradication of malaria by the Americans. In 1975, the city became the symbol of Corsican nationalism during the events of Aleria, a wine and identity conflict that marked the island's contemporary history.

The natural heritage completes this historic site: the pond del Sale, reserved ornithological, and the wetlands of the lower Tavignano valley, protected by Natura 2000. These ecosystems, linked to the agricultural and shellfish history of Aleria, make it a cultural and environmental territory emblematic of Corsica.

Future

Many pieces (furniture, ceramics, coins, sculptures, bronzes) are found today at the Musée départemental d'archéologie Jérôme Carcopino, benefiting from the label "Musée de France".

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