THE ONLY REGION IN EUROPE OFFICIALLY CLASSIFIED AS DESERT
Corsica is an island of contrasts. The contrasts between crystal clear water, extensive beaches and mighty mountains rising from the sea form its breathtaking landscape. The ancient Greeks gave the French island the nickname Kalliste, the most beautiful, and rightly so.
Considered the most mountainous in the Mediterranean, the island is made up of 86% mountains. More than 50 mountains with a height of more than 2,000 meters characterize the landscape. Highlighted in color by the maquis, an evergreen bush forest, that can be found even in the most remote corners of the island.
This bush vegetation, which covers about half of Corsica,surrounds the island with an unmistakable scent. In keeping with the rhythm of the seasons, it exudes a mixture of different herbs such as myrtle, rosemary, juniper and broom.
But one area in the northeast of Corsica stands out: the 40 km long, unpopulated coastal region of Désert des Agriates, the only region in Europe officially classified as desert. It is a dry, bush-covered landscape rather than the ‘typical’ desert one might imagine. A wild and natural ensemble that mixes maquis, streams, and rocky mountain slopes.
Until the beginning of the 20th century the coastal strip was fertile farmland and pastureland and was even referred to as “Corsica’s granary” in the Middle Ages. Wheat, citrus fruits and olives were grown here, but slash-and-burn agriculture, erosion and overexploitation of the soil resulted in the landscape becoming desolate and the fertile coastal region turning into a rocky desert.
This is how this area got its name, especially since the Desert des Agriates sometimes has extreme climatic conditions that differ greatly from the rest of Corsica.
The 16,000 hectare natural area is a beautiful wilderness, uninhabited except for the village of Casta. Although nature has been left to its own devices for decades, not all regions are bone- dry stone deserts. The vegetation has adapted to the living conditions and the maquis is slowly reclaiming parts of nature. Gorse, myrtle and heather thrive in many places and many animal species have found refuge.
