Place d’Armes, and extends to an unknown distance. It contains a freshwater lake, which rises and falls with the tide. A staircase with a vaulted roof and consisting of 337 steps leads down to this lake. The water is brought up to the surface by a force pump, is perfectly transparent, with a slight calcareous taste. In the high town there are 39 private and one public cistern, in which the rain water from the roofs is stored up. The low town has a well supplied from a stream by an aqueduct. The afternoon is the best time to visit the caves. A boat for one or party should not cost more than 5 frs. The finest, the Dragonetta, cannot be visited when the sea is rough.
On [Monte Pertusato] (the south extremity of Corsica), 2 miles S.E. from Bonifacio, is a lighthouse of the first order, 325 feet above the sea. The southern promontory is pierced by a cavern hung with stalactites.
[ Bonifacio to Bastia.]
103 miles; diligence to Ghisonaccia, 50 m. N., the rest by rail.
BONIFACIO
BASTIA 103 BONIFACIO. The diligence, after passing the Col Finocchio, 354 feet, 2½ miles N. from Bonifacio, the Maison Francola, 7 miles, the bridge across the Stabiacco, 16 miles, and the Col Mattonara, 17½ miles (whence the Route Forestière, No. 11, ascends 14 miles west into the forest of the Ospedale), arrives in 3 hours at
BONIFACIO
BASTIA 27 76 PORTO-VECCHIO, pop. 2740. Hôtel Amis. Surrounded by its old walls, and at the head of a beautiful gulf. The surrounding country is fertile, but unhealthy during the hot weather, on account of the miasma rising from the morasses and lagoons. To the N. of Porto, the mountains still approach near to the sea; but beyond Solenzara (where the diligence halts) 41½ miles from Bonifacio, they recede and leave free those great undulating plains which characterise the eastern coast of Corsica—plains almost uninhabited and covered with heaths. From the north side of the Travo commences a [series of large lakes] swarming with fish and a kind of cockle. They are separated from the sea by long narrow sandbanks, like earthen break-waters. The malaria prevails from June to October, but even then only the night should be avoided in travelling along this coast. The road after passing by the hamlet of Favona, 33 m., arrives at
BONIFACIO
BASTIA 45 58 SOLENZARA. Whence a wheel road extends westwards into the forest of Bavella by the [Col Bavella] 18½ m. S.W., and the Col Scalella, 22 m., 2982 ft. to [Zonza], 24½ m. from Solenzara; 4 m. farther is the village of S. Gavino di Carbini, 2292 ft., and other 2½ m.
the village of [Levie]; 30 m. S.W. from Solenzara, and 10½ from Propriano is [S. Lucia de Tallano], on the highroad to Aullene (see [p. 27]), and for continuation of this road to Propriano see [p. 26].