The Via Corsica Euro-Tourisme association, which was set up in 1998, offers original tours and high-quality themed tours of the whole of Corsica (towns, archaeological sites and museums, including the Bastia Museum). The association is made up of around twenty professional guides who are able to meet the needs of a wide range of visitors, including schoolchildren, university students, groups and individuals. They also offer tours in Corsican and foreign languages (English, Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch).
The association also has guides trained as «cultural mediators» and qualified interpreters in foreign languages (simultaneous interpreting).
The association offers both classic and original tours, including: «Discovering Street Art in Bastia», «Bastia by night», «Discovering the homes of Bastia's notables from the 16th to the 19th century», «Bastia and its popular beliefs linked to its trade guilds from the 15th to the 19th century», «Discovering the coats of arms of the city of Bastia» and many other tours.
VISIT TO BASTIA
The Via Corsica association is offering a 2.5-hour «lecture tour» of the old town of Bastia. Bastia was founded in 1380 by Leonello Lomellini (Genoese Governor) and has an upper town called «A Citadella» or «U Quartiere di Terra Nova» and a lower town called «Terra Vechja», which houses the Old Port. The tour can start from either the upper or lower town, and includes the history of the city in relation to Corsica and the Mediterranean. Visitors are invited to travel back in time through the maze of narrow streets of Terra Vechja, which surround the Old Port and the market square, to reach the citadel to discover its rich heritage (Governors' Palace (now the Bastia History and Fine Arts Museum), the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the magnificent oratory of Santa Croce. Throughout the tour, visitors can admire the many Baroque buildings and their sumptuous decor. Bastia also stands out for the architecture of its palaces (17th to 19th centuries), its maritime trade, its crafts, its culinary specialities and much more. This tour of the town will be led by a guide with a degree from the University of Corsica, and can also be combined with a visit to the Bastia Museum. The tour is open to children aged 8 and over.
VISIT TO THE BASTIA MUSEUM
Located in the former Genoese Governors' Palace, nestling in the heart of the citadel, the museum was reopened to the public in 2010. It offers an insight into the history of Bastia and Corsica in relation to Genoa and the Mediterranean, from Antiquity to the 19th century.
Each room has a different theme, illustrated by a wealth of iconography (furniture, paintings, liturgical and other objects). Visitors can also explore the former Genoese prisons and underground cisterns, as well as the hanging gardens on the north-western ramparts. This history museum also boasts a fine collection of Italian paintings (17th-18th centuries) belonging to Cardinal Fesch's legation. Generally speaking, the museum's collections are of interest to children aged 8 and over.
You can contact us by e-mail: federicaviacorsica@orange.fr
Tel :06.81.89.80.80.80 // 06.81.37.70.41