The Southern Drama: Bonifacio and the Strait

Bonifacio occupies one of the Mediterranean's most dramatic sites, its medieval city perched on white limestone cliffs that drop vertically into turquoise seas. The location, commanding the strait between Corsica and Sardinia, made Bonifacio strategically vital and architecturally unique. Houses built to the cliff edge seem ready to topple into the void, their foundations carved from living rock, their facades weathered by centuries of wind and spray.

The Bouches de Bonifacio, the strait separating Corsica from Sardinia by just 12 kilometers, creates unique conditions. Powerful currents, sudden winds, and hidden rocks have claimed countless ships, their wrecks now forming artificial reefs that support rich marine life. The Lavezzi Islands, scattered across the strait, offer some of the Mediterranean's finest swimming and diving, their granite chaos creating infinite pools and channels of impossibly clear water.

Bonifacio's beaches, reached by vertiginous stairs carved into cliff faces, reward effort with perfection. Plage de Petit Sperone and Plage de Grand Sperone offer Caribbean-quality sand and water, while the more accessible Plage de Santa Manza provides gentler pleasures. The contrast between the austere cliff-top city and the paradisiacal beaches below encapsulates Corsica's dual nature—fortress and paradise, resistance and welcome.