Corsica

a large island of the Mediterranean. It lies immediately north of Sardinia, 100 miles south of Genoa. Length, 116 miles; extreme width, 52 miles. The highest peak reaches an elevation of 8,889 feet. There are mines of lead and copper, plantations of olive, almond, and fig trees. Vineyards are numerous. The people are of Italian blood, language, and aspect. The island has belonged at various times to the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Saracens, Pisans, and Genoese. It now belongs to France. Education is backward. Half of the people are unable to read and write. Local feuds are still bitter. The island is noted as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte.

See Italy; Sardinia