Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Saint Andrew's Church in Sant'Andréa-di-Bozio, nicknamed the "Cathedral of the Bozio", is a Pevian church built at an altitude of 870 metres, isolated in a chestnut grove. Built on the site of a medieval chapel, it was completed in 1721 and restored several times in the 19th century. Its interior decoration, dated 1863, and its 37-metre bell tower, visible from much of the Bozio and the Corte region, make it an emblematic monument of the microregion. The building houses two classified works: a painting La Crucifixion (1661) by Santis Marc'Antonio and a statue of Christ on a cross (XVI century?).

The municipality of Sant'Andréa-di-Bozio, created in 1857 by the merger of the villages of Arbitro, Rebbia and Piedicorete-di-Bozio, is located in the former piève de Bozio, in Castagniccia. This mountainous region, marked by contrasting vegetation (maquis, chestnut trees, green oaks), experienced a marked demographic decline, from about 100 students in three schools in the mid-20th century to only 55 inhabitants in 2023. The church, registered with the Historical Monuments in 1993, remains a symbol of the religious and community history of this Corsican rural area.

The site of Sant'Andréa-di-Bozio is also remarkable for its natural heritage, integrated into the Corsican Regional Natural Park and protected by biotope decrees, such as Punta Alta (1998). The commune, which adheres to this park, preserves a dense forest environment, with chestnut trees and semi-natural habitats covering 100% of its territory. The church, a communal property, thus embodies both the architectural, historical and landscape heritage of the inner Upper Corsica.

Among the characters related to the commune, Santos Manfredi (1867–?), born in Sant'Andréa-di-Bozio, was a philanthropist and great agricultural owner in Argentina. Charles Thomas, a French officer and resistanceman shot in 1944, married Estelle Ginefri, a village resident, in 1936. These figures illustrate the links between this small Corsican commune and the important destinies of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The church Saint-André, with its unique nave plan cut off from an elevated transept and its gable bedside, reflects a sober but monumental architecture for the region. Its facade, rhythmized by pilasters and surmounted by a triangular pediment, as well as its dome on pendants, testify to a baroque influence adapted to the local context. The building, covered with lauze, dominates a landscape of hills and valleys, where streams like Pasquale recall historical episodes, such as Pascal Paoli's victory over Marius Emmanuel Matra in 1768.

Today, Sant'Andréa-di-Bozio, classified as a rural commune with a very dispersed habitat, remains attached to its traditions, as evidenced by the holiday of 30 November, Sant'Andria l'Apostulu. The church, the only place of Catholic worship in the municipality under the Diocese of Ajaccio, continues to play a central role in local life, despite the gradual desertification of this part of Castagniccia.

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