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The approximately 8,700 km² island (French: Corse) is located 160 kilometres south-east of the coast of France. In the 6th century BC, Corsica was colonised by the Phoenicians, who called it Korai (covered with forest). In the middle of the 3rd century BC, the island came under Roman rule. Around 1,000 AD, Pisa gained sovereignty and reactivated viticulture, which had fallen into decline due to the fall of the Roman Empire. From the end of the 13th century, Genoa took over. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was probably born in Calvi on the north-west coast. In 1572, the Genoese issued a decree that every family had to plant four vines.

Sale to France

The island was sold to France in 1768, and one year later Napoleon (1769-1821) was born in Ajaccio. As emperor, he granted his homeland the special privilege of selling wine without paying taxes. In the middle of the 19th century, there were still around 20,000 hectares of vineyards and three quarters of the population lived from winegrowing. The phylloxera catastrophe towards the end of the 19th century led to a total decline.

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Sigi Hiss

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Sigi Hiss
freier Autor und Weinberater (Fine, Vinum u.a.), Bad Krozingen

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