Last modified: 2021-03-18 by ivan sache
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Flag of Bastia, two versions - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 4 September 2020
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The municipality of Bastia (48,044 inhabitants in 2018, therefore Corsica's second most populated municipality; 1,938 ha) is located on the north-eastern coast of Corsica.
Bastia was founded in 1378 when the Genoese governor Leonello Lomellini left Biguglia Castle to settle in a stronghold dominating a fisherman’s port that was then called Porto Cardo (the current Old Port). His successors kept this residence. Genoese settlers established the district of Terra Nova (New Land; the present Citadel), protected by ramparts. The old Porto Cardo was renamed to Terra Vecchia (Old Land).
The ramparts were completed in 1480 and it took another 50 years to complete the governor's palace, located next to the old keep. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the upper town was designed on the model of Genoese towns, with straight streets arranged in a grid plan.
At the end of the 18th century, the town prospered and its population grew considerably. During the 19th century, the town extended to the north and the heights. The urban landscape experienced a complete transformation, with the building of the courthouse, the extension of Place Saint Nicolas, and the construction of several patrician buildings lining wide boulevards. At the beginning of the 20th century, the new port was completed and the town continued its expansion towards Toga and Saint Joseph.
[Tourism website]
Several buildings and sites in Bastia are registered as historical monuments: the governor's Citadel and Palace (14th century), many baroque buildings as the Church of Saint Charles (1612), the Church or Oratory of Saint Roch (1604), the former cathedral Sainte-Marie (built in 1495 but heavily remodeled in the early 17th century), the Church of Saint John the Baptist (1636)...
Olivier Touzeau, 4 September 2020
The flag hoisted on the main mast in front of the Town Hall of Bastia (photo) is white with the municipal's logo, afopted in October 2009 and made of a Baroque-style volute and the name "Bastia" beneath it in Bliss Bold font.
Another two flags are hoisted around the main entrance, white flags with a sepia representation of the municipal coat of arms, "Azure, a fortress argent masoned port and windows sable on a base vert".
Olivier Touzeau, 4 September 2020