L'Ile-Rousse travel guide

L'Île-Rousse (Isula Rossa in Corsican) is a commune in the Haute-Corse département of Corsica, France. It has a permanent population of around 2,500.
It was founded in 1758 by Pasquale Paoli to create a port that would not be in the hands of the Genoese like Calvi. Italian being still the administrative language of Corsica (until 1848), the town was originally called Isola Rossa (Red Island, from the ochre colour of a rocky islet that served as a natural harbour). With Saint-Florent, it is one of only two communes in the département to have a French name — all the others have kept their Italian names despite the repeated demands of Corsican nationalists. (...) more…