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Origin and history

The ruins of the Sainte-Marie de Casalta chapel, located in the Corsican village of the same name, date mainly from the twelfth century, with significant additions to the seventeenth century. The building, with an elongated plan, consists of a unique nave originally covered with an apparent wooden frame, and an apse arched in cul-de-four. A campanile completes the whole. The chapel, attached to the episcopal mensus of the bishop of Accia, served as a central place of worship for the stake of Ampugnani. An adjacent house housed the bishop during his pastoral visits, stressing his importance in the local religious organization.

In the 16th century, Pope Pius IV merged the bishoprics of Accia and Mariana in 1563, appointing a vicar to serve the chapel. The latter, not very present, neglected the maintenance of the building, accelerating its deterioration. Two side chapels were added in the 17th century on both sides of the abside, while the small limestone walls contrast with the regular slabs of the western facade. The ruins of the episcopal residence, on two levels, reveal a room for drying chestnuts over two rooms, according to 18th century inventories.

As early as the 18th century, the state of the chapel deteriorated: a report of 1740, prepared by Bishop Saluzzo, bishop of Mariana and Accia, attests to his poor condition. Although restored in the second half of the 18th century, it appears in ruins on the cadastre of 1876. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1980, the chapel today illustrates the architectural and religious evolution of medieval and modern Corsica, while at the same time demonstrating the challenges of preserving the island heritage.

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