CORSICA, FRANCE (Port No. 33, 4/14/12)

CORSICA'S LOCATION BETWEEN FRANCE AND ITALY

∙ GEOGRAPHY 101
          ∙ Land Mass/Continent: Europe; French island

AJACCIO

          ∙ About Ajaccio: Ajaccio is the capital and largest city, located on the west coast, of Corsica - Corsica is located in the Ligurian Sea, midway between mainland France (to the northwest) and Italy (to the east)

          ∙ Estimated Population: 65,153
          ∙ Distance From Home (San Diego, CA): 6,238 miles
          ∙ The Water That Got Us Here: Tyrrhenian Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea); Gulf of Ajaccio

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

∙ ITS PLACE IN HISTORY/ INTERESTING FACTS
          ∙ Currency: Euro
          ∙ Official Language:  Could it be - French?  Triple duh!  Corsican is the traditional native language
          ∙ Local time: 
          ∙ Average full-time annual gross wages in France: $37,269
          ∙ Corsica was once part of the Republic of Genoa, which was conquered by First French Republic under Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

                    ∙ Napoleon was born in Corsica to parents of noble Genoese ancestry; most believe he was born in Ajaccio, but some say Corte
                    ∙ Napoleon was a French military leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution
                    ∙ From 1804-1815, he was Emperor of the French
                    ∙ The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars against Napoleon’s French Empire; his armies conquered much of Europe

STATUE OF NAPOLEON IN ROMAN GARB

                    ∙ Napoleon formed extensive allegiances and appointed family members and friends to rule other European countries
                    ∙ Yet, his armies collapsed after they invaded Russia in 1812, and he was forced to abdicate and exiled to the island of Elba – the lion bit the dragon and got burned!
                    ∙ Less than a year later, he escaped Elba and returned to power, but his empire failed after his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815 (not just a great Abba song!)
                    ∙ He spent the last 6 years of his life (1815-1821) confined by the British on the Island of Saint Helena; there’s a debate whether he died of stomach cancer or arsenic poisoning

FRANCE - CORSICA IN LOWER RIGHT CORNER

                    ∙ Napoleon is regarded as one of the greatest military leaders of all time due to his longtime success in these wars, often against numerically superior enemies
                    ∙ His campaigns are studied at military academies worldwide
                    ∙ His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code (no privileges based on birth, freedom of religion, government jobs to the most qualified), strongly influenced the law of other countries formed around the time of the Napoleonic Wars
          ∙ Eventually, Corsica was ceded in the Treaty of Versailles

          ∙ Travel video:  http://www.youtube.com/user/THEWORLDOFTRAVEL#p/search/0/WGspVxuD9ww

∙ CLIMATE
          ∙ Average low for April: 45.1
          ∙ Average high for April: 63.3

CASA DI NAPOLEON

∙ HIGHLIGHTS/THINGS TO SEE
          ∙ The Bonapartes had a “modest” 4-story home in town, now a museum known as Casa Buonaparte
          ∙ Ajaccio Cathedral
          ∙ Genoese towers