Sartène: The Most Corsican of Corsican Towns
Corsica, France
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Catenacciu
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
Sartène: The Most Corsican of Corsican Towns
250 + 100 XP
Prosper Mérimée called Sartène the most Corsican of Corsican towns, and the town has put the phrase on a sign at its entrance. Its history is of vendetta between families and of fights between quarters — the Borgu against Sant'Anna through the 19th century, the Rocca Serra against the Ortoli and the Pietri. Its square is overlooked by the old palace of the Genoese governors, now the town hall. On the night of Good Friday it holds the Catenacciu, the oldest procession in Corsica, going back to the 13th century: a penitent in red from head to foot, hooded so nobody can see his face, walks barefoot through the streets carrying a 33 kg oak cross and dragging a 14 kg chain tied to his right ankle, with a white penitent and eight black ones. Only the parish priest knows who he is, and nobody may do it twice. The cross and chain hang in the church of Sainte-Marie the rest of the year. The town also has the Musée d'archéologie de la Corse.
Required Activities
1
of 6
In Sainte-Marie, built from 1766 after the old church collapsed, find the cross and the chain of the Catenacciu on the wall and take their weight in: 33 kg of oak for the years of Christ's life, 14 kg of chain for the fourteen stations of the Cross
2
of 6
Go under the archway of the town hall into Manichedda by the place du Maggiu, then down through Pietraggio to the échauguette on the place de Guardiola, the last surviving piece of the quarter's defences — on the way, look up at houses tied together by arcades and find a wall where the stone changes between the first floor and the second
3
of 6
Be on the place de a Porta before 21.30 on Good Friday night, when the door of Sainte-Marie opens and the procession comes out, and follow the 1,800 metres it takes about two hours to walk — the penitent has to fall three times, on the road to Sant'Anna, on the place de a Porta itself, and near the old chapel of Sainte-Lucie
4
of 6
Walk the Musée d'archéologie de la Corse from one end of its span to the other — the first peopling of the island nearly 10,000 years ago through to the end of the Genoese period in the 15th century — and give the statue-menhir room, the museum's own showpiece, the time it needs
5
of 6
Drive south onto the Cauria plateau, still inside this commune, and walk the three sites together: the dolmen of Fontanaccia, then the standing rows of I Stantari and Rinaiu — the alignments whose cousins you have just seen under glass in the museum
6
of 6
Walk out to the Genoese bridge of Spin'a Cavallu over the Rizzanese north of the town, and find the pair of menhirs beside it that the Corsicans call U Frati è a Sora, the friar and the sister
In Sainte-Marie, built from 1766 after the old church collapsed, find the cross and the chain of the Catenacciu on the wall and take their weight in: 33 kg of oak for the years of Christ's life, 14 kg of chain for the fourteen stations of the Cross
Go under the archway of the town hall into Manichedda by the place du Maggiu, then down through Pietraggio to the échauguette on the place de Guardiola, the last surviving piece of the quarter's defences — on the way, look up at houses tied together by arcades and find a wall where the stone changes between the first floor and the second
Be on the place de a Porta before 21.30 on Good Friday night, when the door of Sainte-Marie opens and the procession comes out, and follow the 1,800 metres it takes about two hours to walk — the penitent has to fall three times, on the road to Sant'Anna, on the place de a Porta itself, and near the old chapel of Sainte-Lucie
Walk the Musée d'archéologie de la Corse from one end of its span to the other — the first peopling of the island nearly 10,000 years ago through to the end of the Genoese period in the 15th century — and give the statue-menhir room, the museum's own showpiece, the time it needs
Drive south onto the Cauria plateau, still inside this commune, and walk the three sites together: the dolmen of Fontanaccia, then the standing rows of I Stantari and Rinaiu — the alignments whose cousins you have just seen under glass in the museum
Walk out to the Genoese bridge of Spin'a Cavallu over the Rizzanese north of the town, and find the pair of menhirs beside it that the Corsicans call U Frati è a Sora, the friar and the sister
Before you go
The Catenacciu procession is on the night of Good Friday, in March or April.
The Good Friday procession is a religious rite, not a show — no flash photography.
The Musée d'archéologie de la Corse opens daily 10.00–18.00 from 1 June to 31 October, Tuesday to Saturday 10.00–17.00 in April and May, and only Monday to Friday 9.00–16.00 from 1 November to 31 March — so a winter weekend arrival will find it shut. It also closes on public holidays, Easter Monday included, and the ticket is 4 euros. Sartène's lanes are stepped and very narrow: park below the old town, not in it.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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