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Porto-Vecchio History |
Beginnings
The excellent natural harbour at Porto-Vecchio "Old Port" attracted the Genoese who founded the town in 1539 as one of their defensive ports around the island.
Malaria
The fortified site (today known as Haute Ville/Upper Town) high up above the bay was, however, plagued by malaria and frequent attacks by pirates. The first settlers were soon wiped out by malaria, a common problem along the coast at the time.Porto-Vecchio briefly reemerged in 1564, when Sampiero Corso used it as a base for his renewed efforts to liberate Corsica. His attempt however failed, causing Porto-Vecchio to revert to a sleepy walled town for centuries.
In 1935 a railway joined Porto-Vecchio to Bastia, however this fell into disrepair during the war. It was not until after the Second World War, when the malaria-infested swamps were cleared (to improve the health of the soldiers and airmen) and transformed into salt marshes that Port-Vecchio began to expand and thrive as a town.
Industry
After the Second World War, the existing industries of salt and cork production started to really take off. The port was therefore developed and the eastern plain cultivated.Even today, cork (harvested from oak grown on the salt marshes) is still exported from Porto-Vecchio's commercial port, although the industry is in decline due to competition from plastic. Much of the cork is used for craft objects made in Sardinia then exported back to Corsica for sale to tourists.
Some of the salt marshland was filled in for development of the modern town. Some commercial salt pans were however constructed, from which Porto-Vecchio's commercial slogan the "City of Salt" ("la Cité du Sel") derives.