'Calvi' is a small town and
commune of the
Haute-Corse (2B) ''
département'', in
France.
It is located on the northwest coast of the island of
Corsica, 95 km from
Bastia and 24 km from
L'ÃŽle-Rousse. At the
1999 census it had a population of 5,177 inhabitants, and was the fifth-largest commune in Corsica. Its motto is "''Calvi semper fidelis.''"
There is one legend that
Christopher Columbus was from Calvi, which at the time was part of the Genoese empire. Because the often subversive elements of the island gave its inhabitants a bad reputation, he would have masked his exact heritage.
The
2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2 REP) of the
French Foreign Legion is based in Calvi, housed in its
citadel.
The economy of Calvi is essentially based on summer
tourism, which started in 1950 due to the pioneering efforts of
Vladimir Raitz. The Ste-Catherine International Airport of Calvi and the Xavier Colonna Port ease the access for a number of tourists.
External links
★
Official website
★
Wikitravel
★
A presentation of Calvi and its hotels
★
photos from Fleur de Corse