Calvi, Haute-Corse

Calvi (/ˈkælv/; French: [kalvi]; Italian: [ˈkalvi]; Corsican: [ˈkalvi]) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica.

Calvi
View of the citadel
View of the citadel
Flag of Calvi
Coat of arms of Calvi
Location of Calvi
Calvi is located in France
Calvi
Calvi
Calvi is located in Corsica
Calvi
Calvi
Coordinates: 42°34′07″N 8°45′25″E
CountryFrance
RegionCorsica
DepartmentHaute-Corse
ArrondissementCalvi
CantonCalvi
IntercommunalityCalvi Balagne
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Ange Santini[1]
Area
1
31.20 km2 (12.05 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
5,766
  Density180/km2 (480/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
2B050 /20260
Elevation0–700 m (0–2,297 ft)
(avg. 81 m or 266 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is the seat of the Canton of Calvi, which contains Calvi and one other commune, Lumio. Calvi is also the capital of the Arrondissement of Calvi, which contains, besides the Canton of Calvi, three other cantons: L'Île-Rousse, Belgodère, and Calenzana.[3] According to legend, Christopher Columbus supposedly came from Calvi, which at the time was part of the Genoese Empire. Because the often subversive elements of the island gave its inhabitants a bad reputation, he would have been expected to mask his exact birthplace.

Geography

Panorama of Calvi and its Gulf seen from Notre-Dame de La Serra

Calvi is located on the northwest coast of the island of Corsica, 95 km (59 mi) from Bastia and 24 km (15 mi) from L'Île-Rousse. It is the fifth-largest commune in Corsica; however, the arrondissement is the smallest.

Climate

Calvi has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in Calvi is 16.4 °C (61.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 652.8 mm (25.70 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C (76.5 °F), and lowest in February, at around 9.4 °C (48.9 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Calvi was 42.1 °C (107.8 °F) on 29 July 1983; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −5.6 °C (21.9 °F) on 30 January 1963.

Town Sunshine

(hours/yr)
Rain

(mm/yr)
Snow

(days/yr)
Storm

(days/yr)
Fog

(days/yr)
National average 1,973770142240
Calvi 2,713.4668.31.625.30.5
Paris 1,661637121810
Nice 2,7247671291
Strasbourg 1,693665292956
Brest 1,6051,21171275


Climate data for Calvi, Haute-Corse (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1960–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.3
(73.9)
23.6
(74.5)
28.8
(83.8)
32.1
(89.8)
36.0
(96.8)
39.2
(102.6)
42.1
(107.8)
40.6
(105.1)
37.4
(99.3)
32.9
(91.2)
29.8
(85.6)
25.4
(77.7)
42.1
(107.8)
Average high °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2)
14.2
(57.6)
16.4
(61.5)
19.1
(66.4)
23.1
(73.6)
27.2
(81.0)
30.2
(86.4)
30.2
(86.4)
26.4
(79.5)
22.4
(72.3)
17.8
(64.0)
14.9
(58.8)
21.3
(70.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 9.5
(49.1)
9.4
(48.9)
11.5
(52.7)
14.0
(57.2)
17.8
(64.0)
21.8
(71.2)
24.6
(76.3)
24.7
(76.5)
21.3
(70.3)
17.7
(63.9)
13.6
(56.5)
10.6
(51.1)
16.4
(61.5)
Average low °C (°F) 5.0
(41.0)
4.7
(40.5)
6.6
(43.9)
8.9
(48.0)
12.5
(54.5)
16.4
(61.5)
19.0
(66.2)
19.2
(66.6)
16.2
(61.2)
13.0
(55.4)
9.3
(48.7)
6.2
(43.2)
11.4
(52.5)
Record low °C (°F) −5.6
(21.9)
−3.9
(25.0)
−4.6
(23.7)
−0.4
(31.3)
3.7
(38.7)
7.5
(45.5)
10.6
(51.1)
12.3
(54.1)
7.9
(46.2)
2.6
(36.7)
−2.3
(27.9)
−4.2
(24.4)
−5.6
(21.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 50.3
(1.98)
53.5
(2.11)
58.9
(2.32)
55.8
(2.20)
40.8
(1.61)
32.2
(1.27)
7.6
(0.30)
23.3
(0.92)
59.1
(2.33)
79.2
(3.12)
115.4
(4.54)
76.7
(3.02)
652.8
(25.70)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 6.1 6.0 6.4 6.7 5.0 2.9 1.0 1.7 5.5 7.1 9.2 7.7 65.4
Average snowy days 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 1.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 132.7 150.0 204.6 237.9 296.1 330.9 370.6 331.3 247.0 189.6 131.8 123.3 2,745.6
Source: Meteo France[5]

History

Calvi was founded in the 13th century.[6] Its motto, "Calvi semper fidelis" ("Calvi Always Faithful"), referred originally to its loyalty to the Republic of Genoa, which instated there a closed city centre (préside) in 1278, and built a new castle in 1491 to face new artillery technologies.[7] The motto originates from 1553 when Calvi repulsed two attacks by the French and Turks,[6] aided by Corsican exiles.

During the war with Revolutionary France, British forces under Admiral Nelson and Lieutenant-General Charles Stuart captured the city in the Siege of Calvi in 1794. It was during the bombardment of Calvi that Nelson sustained the injury that cost him his eye. The town was retaken by Corsicans the following year.[6]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1800 1,162    
1806 1,083−1.17%
1821 1,175+0.55%
1831 1,382+1.64%
1836 1,457+1.06%
1841 1,746+3.69%
1846 1,502−2.97%
1851 1,837+4.11%
1856 1,412−5.13%
1861 2,069+7.94%
1866 1,884−1.86%
1872 2,175+2.42%
1876 1,998−2.10%
1881 2,023+0.25%
1886 1,987−0.36%
1891 2,162+1.70%
1896 2,132−0.28%
1901 1,998−1.29%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 2,077+0.78%
1911 2,269+1.78%
1921 2,387+0.51%
1926 2,586+1.61%
1931 2,827+1.80%
1936 2,824−0.02%
1946 2,053−3.14%
1954 2,035−0.11%
1962 2,258+1.31%
1968 2,767+3.45%
1975 3,530+3.54%
1982 3,579+0.20%
1990 4,815+3.78%
1999 5,177+0.81%
2007 5,441+0.62%
2012 5,514+0.27%
2017 5,559+0.16%
Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE (1968-2017)[9]

Economy

Port of Calvi

The economy of Calvi is essentially based on summer tourism, which started in 1950 due to the pioneering efforts of Vladimir Raitz.

Transport

Calvi is served by the international Calvi - Sainte-Catherine Airport, the Xavier Colonna Port, and a metre-gauge railway line to L'Île-Rousse and Ponte-Leccia, connecting with the main line Ajaccio - Bastia.

Monuments

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. "France, le trésor des régions: Département: Haute-Corse" (in French). Retrieved 6 May 2008..
  4. Paris, Nice, Strasbourg, Brest
  5. "Calvi (20)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  6. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Calvi". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 70–71.
  7. Catherine Herrgott (15 December 2013). "Les citadelles urbaines en Corse : patrimonialisation d'un territoire particulier". Études caribéennes (in French) (26). doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.6714. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Calvi, EHESS (in French).
  9. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
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