Couvent Saint-Dominique de Corbara

Corbara

Set against the arid slopes of the Monte Sant'Angelo, facing the sea off the Balagne, the convent of Corbara was founded in 1456 by the Friars Minor of the Observance, led by Mariano de Muro and Matteo d'Occhiatana, on an estate of five hectares supplied with springs — hence its first name, the convent of Saint-François of the pieve of Aregno. The present conventual church dates from 1735. Sold as national property at the Revolution, the complex fell into ruin until, in 1855, Father Besson, a Dominican painter captivated by the place, proposed that his order should restore it; the commune ceded the ruins and Father Bourard led the restoration. The convent became an intellectual centre: a college of philosophy and theology flourished there from 1884 to 1894, and Father Cormier, the architect of its rebuilding, was beatified in 1994. The list of its guests speaks for the renown of the place: Pascal Paoli, the great preacher Didon, Guy de Maupassant, and Cardinal Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII. Expelled in 1903 under the laws of Separation, the Dominicans returned in 1927 for sixty-six years. Since 1993, the Brothers of Saint John have welcomed retreatants, Corsican polyphony workshops and concerts there. The complex, with its cloister and terraced gardens, has been registered as a monument historique (historic monument) since 2011.

Getting there : In the Balagne, on the slopes of the Monte Sant'Angelo above the village of Corbara (20256), between L'Île-Rousse and Calvi. Car park with some twenty spaces at the foot of the convent buildings (altitude approx. 305 m). Private site inhabited by a religious community: guided tours organised by the brothers, spiritual retreats by reservation.

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

Ambient sound