La Canonica (Santa Maria Assunta de Mariana)

Lucciana

In the coastal plain of the Marana rises the most famous medieval monument in Corsica, on ground that has been Christian since the earliest times. Here, the Roman general Marius founded around 93 BC the military colony of Mariana; from the late 4th century, a vast early Christian complex housed a baptistery and a basilica, and the diocese of Mariana, created in the 5th century, was one of the first on the island. In the early 12th century the Pisans — to whom Pope Gregory VII had entrusted Corsica — built, twenty metres from the old sanctuary, a new cathedral: Santa Maria Assunta, consecrated in 1119 by the archbishop of Pisa. Thirty-five metres long and thirteen wide, it lined up three timber-roofed vessels carried on two rows of seven piers, in carefully dressed schist from Cap Corse, a technique then quite new on the island. Its doorway is adorned with interlace and a frieze of real and fantastic animals that still intrigue visitors. Outdone by the neighbouring strongholds, Mariana declined quickly; the bishopric moved to Vescovato in 1440 and the "Canonica" slowly fell into ruin, before being noticed by Prosper Mérimée and listed as a historic monument in 1886, then restored in 2000. In 2003, Prince Rainier III of Monaco gave the old cathedral a statue of Saint Devota, patron saint of Corsica and of Monaco, taking up again the thread of sixteen centuries of devotion.

Getting there : Route de la Canonica (D107), 20290 Lucciana, in the plain of the Marana south of Bastia, near Bastia-Poretta airport. Car park laid out in front of the entrance; interior open on weekdays, archaeological site of Mariana and museum adjoining.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound