Sartène — The Most Corsican of Corsican Towns

Sartène is a granite town in Corse-du-Sud, set above the Rizzanese valley about 80 km south of Ajaccio. The writer Prosper Mérimée described it in the 19th century as the most Corsican of Corsican towns, and the old quarter still has a closed, inward-looking character, with tall stone houses, narrow lanes and vaulted passages clustered around Place de la Libération. Visitors spend their time walking the lanes, looking at the dark granite façades and the church on the main square, and taking in the views from the edge of the historic centre. The Musée de Préhistoire Corse et d'Archéologie, housed in a former prison building, presents the megalithic culture of the surrounding Sartenais region, including statue-menhirs and finds linked to sites such as Cauria. The town is also known for the Catenacciu, the Good Friday procession in which a hooded penitent carries a cross and drags a chain through the streets at night. A typical visit takes two to three hours: one hour for the lanes and square, and about an hour for the museum. The museum opens Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00 from June to September and 10:00 to 17:00 from October to May, with a midday break noted by visitors, and admission is about 4 euros. Most shops in the old town also close around lunchtime. Mornings are the quietest time and give the best light on the stone; the square is busiest at midday in summer and during market days. For photographs, the view across the stacked granite rooftops from Place Porta, at the edge of the historic centre, is the standard vantage point. Sartène can be reached by road from Ajaccio via the N196 in about 1 hour 10 minutes, or by Eurocorse coach in around 1 hour 30 minutes.