Nonza: The Black Beach of Cap Corse
Corsica, France
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Nonza
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Nonza: The Black Beach of Cap Corse
225 + 100 XP
The tower standing 167 m above the sea at Nonza, on the schist clifftop they call the Monte, is not Genoese at all: it is a tour paoline, raised in the 18th century on the remains of the Avogari castle, and Pasquale Paoli held it for its view straight down the gulf of Saint-Florent. Below it runs a long beach of black sand and pebbles that is not natural either: it is the spoil of the asbestos mine at Canari, the largest asbestos deposit in France, which the miners called the white hell and which was worked industrially from 1948 until it closed in 1965. Every tonne of waste went over the cliff into the sea, and in seventeen years it silted up the marines of Albu and of Nonza and pushed a new beach as much as 300 m out from the old shoreline. Since the mine closed the sea has been taking it back, and the beach is half as wide as it was in the middle of the 20th century.
Required Activities
1
of 6
Find the quarter of Monte d'Eramu on the west side of the village, take the steep path that climbs from there, and stand at the Torra di Nonza on its schist clifftop 167 m above the water, with the whole gulf of Saint-Florent open in front of you
2
of 6
Inside the tower, count the loopholes and judge the story the Corsicans tell about it: that in 1768 the wounded Jacques Casella held it alone, shouting orders to nobody and firing several muskets at once through those openings with a rig of strings, until the French gave him military honours to come out
3
of 6
Walk down the steep path to the black beach and go to its southern end, where the remains of the old Marina di Nonza are still showing above the spoil — a harbour that kept seven boats and its warehouses at the end of the 18th century, and that the mine waste simply buried
4
of 6
Look north up the coast to the pale scar of Canari and take in what you are seeing from here: the largest asbestos deposit in France, 30,000 tonnes a year at its peak in 1961, still employing 300 people the year it shut, and every tonne of its waste thrown off that cliff into the sea
5
of 6
Drive the D80 to both of Nonza's neighbouring marines — Negru 4 km south with its tower, Albo 5 km north, the far end of the black beach — and remember who paid for those towers: after 1455 Genoa made the pièves and village communities build them at their own expense against the Barbary raids
6
of 6
Walk the village from the Piazza, where the D80 passes the steps of Sainte-Julie with the Santa Croce confraternity chapel on its right, south of the tower into Carrugiu di Mezzu for the medieval houses under their heavy lauze roofs, and on to Borguvecchju, which had its own ramparts until Genoa pulled them down in 1487
Find the quarter of Monte d'Eramu on the west side of the village, take the steep path that climbs from there, and stand at the Torra di Nonza on its schist clifftop 167 m above the water, with the whole gulf of Saint-Florent open in front of you
Inside the tower, count the loopholes and judge the story the Corsicans tell about it: that in 1768 the wounded Jacques Casella held it alone, shouting orders to nobody and firing several muskets at once through those openings with a rig of strings, until the French gave him military honours to come out
Walk down the steep path to the black beach and go to its southern end, where the remains of the old Marina di Nonza are still showing above the spoil — a harbour that kept seven boats and its warehouses at the end of the 18th century, and that the mine waste simply buried
Look north up the coast to the pale scar of Canari and take in what you are seeing from here: the largest asbestos deposit in France, 30,000 tonnes a year at its peak in 1961, still employing 300 people the year it shut, and every tonne of its waste thrown off that cliff into the sea
Drive the D80 to both of Nonza's neighbouring marines — Negru 4 km south with its tower, Albo 5 km north, the far end of the black beach — and remember who paid for those towers: after 1455 Genoa made the pièves and village communities build them at their own expense against the Barbary raids
Walk the village from the Piazza, where the D80 passes the steps of Sainte-Julie with the Santa Croce confraternity chapel on its right, south of the tower into Carrugiu di Mezzu for the medieval houses under their heavy lauze roofs, and on to Borguvecchju, which had its own ramparts until Genoa pulled them down in 1487
Before you go
The path down to the beach is steep. Do not go into the old Canari quarry — it is closed and asbestos is dangerous.
The path down to the beach is steep, and the beach itself is man-made and shelves abruptly: swimming is dangerous whenever the sea is up, and heavy swell is normal on the west side of Cap Corse. Do not go into the old Canari workings — the site is part private property and under remediation, and asbestos is dangerous. The D80 through the village is single-track past the church with blind bends; Nonza is no place to turn a motorhome.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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