Menu :

Histoire

Personnages

Nature

Itinéraires par région

The creation of the first public garden in Bastia leads us back to a recurrent problem in the city’s history- connecting the the citadel (Terra Nova) and the port area (Terra Vecchia)

The creation of the first public garden in Bastia leads us back to a recurrent problem in the city’s history- connecting the citadel (Terra Nova) and the port area (Terra Vecchia). The destruction in 1748 of Saint Charles oratory by the Genoese authorities enabled the creation of a wide path leading to the port. In 1819, it became a terraced pebbled staircase: the “ricciata”. The garden was created later on, following the gift of a private individual. In 1869, Joseph-Pascal Romieu donated 3600 francs to the city in order to improve the southern pier where his family house stood. The town council decided to use this money to create a grand staircase leading to the “ricciata”. This was done as much to enable the inhabitants to get to the port quickly as to impress tourists arriving in Bastia with a majestic work of art. The project was awarded to local architect Paul-Augustin Viale. He proposed a large horse-shoe staircase. At the intersection with the “ricciata”, he added a side path on the rocky hillside below the Citadel: the central walkway of the future garden. As the soil was unstable, the town council asked that the horseshoe staircase be doubled in size. The total cost of the project was well over budget. On 20th May 1879, the garden was eventually open to the public. As the site is steep, a rock garden was deemed most appropriate combining local tree species such as the stone pines (on St Charles Bastion side) and exotic species: Japanese spindle trees, Judas trees not to mention the majestic Australian belhambra. The garden and the staircase have both been registered as regional Historical Monuments since November 2017

Bastia

GRITACCESS:

Contact :