Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Corte, town, Haute-Corse département, Corsica région, France, in the mountains of north-central Corsica, 52 miles (84 km) northeast of Ajaccio, and 44 miles (70 km) southwest of Bastia. At an elevation of more than 1,200 feet (365 metres) the upper town is situated on a precipitous rock overhanging the confluence of the Tavignano and Restonica rivers. The early 15th-century citadel, built by the Aragonese viceroy Vincentello d’Istria, is on the summit of the rock. Corte was the seat of the government of Pasquale Paoli, the Corsican patriot, from 1755 to 1769. It is an administrative and service centre in the middle of the island; since 1981 it also has been the seat of the university. Pop. (1999) 6,329; (2014 est.) 7,355.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.