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A land sculpted by cultivation The land surrounding the village, now covered by thick scrub, was for centuries totally cultivated, planted, and roamed by men and their herds. Every corner of this territory was ploughed, cleared and laid out. For thousands of years, the shepherds have transhipped from October to May, using the old paths that link the coast to the mountains of the island. At the beginning of the 18th century, the villagers of Auddè in Alta Rocca came to settle on these coastal plains in search of land for wheat and refounded Monaccia. According to oral tradition, their ancestors had been driven out at the end of the Middle Ages by conflicts, raids and malaria. They then came up against the Bonifacians whose territory extended as far as Roccapina. Wheat fields, walls, retaining walls, orii, keep the memory of these cultures which sculpted and shaped the territory. The olive trees, grafted onto wild plants, which can still be found along the way, produced a precious oil. Vines played an important role in the local economy. In the 19th century, thousands of cork oaks (Quercus Suber) were planted in Corsica. The extraction of cork took off considerably. Its thick, waterproof and insulating bark was much sought after, especially for making corks. Extracting cork The cork is extracted in May, when the sap rises, so as not to remove the matrix, which would kill the plant and harm production. We used to work until mid-August because after this period the sap no longer rises. It is necessary to plant the axe in the cork and to spread it so that the bark opens, then to make a crown and to split until the foot. The "masciu" is the cork that has never been extracted, it is also called "u catarcionu", it is bad cork oak that will be pressed. The first growth is made of "catarcionu". After nine years the good cork can be extracted again. The older the cork gets, the more refined it becomes, the denser its texture becomes and it is used to make corks. The "cavalchina" is a cork oak with many large branches, in full strength it can produce a lot of cork, sometimes up to a quintal. There were two unloaders who separated the cork from the trunk and stevedores who carried it and piled it up. Then they loaded it onto mules. There was a factory in Purti Vechju that bought it, otherwise it was sent to Sardinia. The most beautiful cork was extracted on the hillsides or in the forest, on poor land. Special axes were used, which had a blade as well as a hammer to strike, so that one could give an axe blow and a hammer blow. The most beautiful axes were made in Sartene.

Monacia-d'Aullène

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