Sant'Antonino

Known as the eagle's nest of the Balagne, Sant'Antonino coils around a granite peak some 500 metres up, between the sea and the mountains near Calvi and L'Île-Rousse. Its houses are packed together in a small labyrinth meant to confuse invaders, and as a stronghold of the Savelli counts it sheltered people from pirate raids. Cars stay at the gate; the cobbled lanes and vaulted passages are for walking.

Highlights

• A car-free spiral of cobbled lanes and vaulted passages
• Views over the Balagne to the sea on one side, mountains on the other
• The 11th-century Église de l'Annonciation, with its four-storey bell tower
• Almond trees on the western slopes and the yearly Fiera di l'Amandulu
• Corsican cooking in the village's dozen or so restaurants

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Sant'Antonino (Haute-Corse), Sant'Antonino, Haute-Corse, Sant'Antonino (Francia)), Wikivoyage (Sant'Antonino (Haute-Corse), Sant'Antonino, Sant'Antonino (Francia)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.