Bastia

Port and commercial centre on the northeast coast of Corsica, France, administrative centre of the département of Haute-Corse, 96 km/60 mi northeast of Ajaccio; population (1990) 52,390. Industries include the manufacture of processed foods. Founded in 1380 by the Genoese, who built a fortress to protect it, Bastia was the capital of Corsica until 1791. The town has several fine churches, notably San Giovanni Battiste with its classical facades.

History In 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the town was in British hands. It was recaptured by the Genoese, who sold the whole island of Corsica to France in 1768. The island fell into British possession again during the French Revolution. In World War II the town of Bastia was captured by the Germans, who held it from 1942 to 1943. The town is overlooked by a 16th–17th-century fortress, which replaced the original fortress built by the Genoese.