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From its creation at the end of the 14th century, maritime trade was of key importance to Bastia and the city developed around Porto Cardo cove. The increased traffic and the appearance of steam ships in the 19th century required the creation of a larger second port.

From its creation at the end of the 14th century, maritime trade was of key importance to Bastia.The location chosen by the Genoese offered the advantage of two natural coves including that of Porto Cardo, the current Vieux Port, which was used at the time by the inhabitants of Cardo for seafaring. The city developed around its port, which became one of the busiest of the island and enabled trade with all of the Mediterranean. However, access to the port was narrow and dangerous.In the 19th century, the advent of steam navigation and the development of factories required the creation of a new infrastructure to cope with the rapid increase in traffic. In 1845, thanks to a grant from King Louis-Philippe, the construction of a new port in Saint Nicolas cove was considered. However, construction work did not start until 1863 and the port only began operations in 1872.As the port was being rebuilt, the Northern part of the city was being developed. As in most European cities at the time, a detailed plan was created to ensure the coherent development of this new neighbourhood. Streets were wider, cut across each other at right angles and had wide pavements on each side. The creation of the church of Notre dame de Lourdes in 1971 meant that the neighbourhood became a parish in its own right.During the Second World War, Bastia was first occupied by the Italians and then by the Germans. Bastia’s port was a strategic target for allied forces. The bombings of October 1943 nearly completely destroyed it. It had been completely rebuilt by the 1960s but without a significant increase in capacity even though it was ranked the busiest port on the Mediterranean Sea in 2017 in terms of passenger traffic.

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