- published: 22 Jun 2013
- views: 2000
Coordinates: 41°55′36″N 8°44′13″E / 41.9267°N 8.7369°E / 41.9267; 8.7369
Ajaccio (Latin: Adiacium; French: Ajaccio, [aʒaksjo]; Corsican: Aiacciu [aˈjattʃu]; Italian: Ajaccio, [aˈjattʃo]), is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud.
The geopolitical arrangements of the commune are slightly different from those typical of Corsica and France. Usually an arrondissement includes cantons and a canton includes one to several communes including the chef-lieu, "chief place", from which the canton takes its name. The city of Ajaccio is one commune, but it contains six cantons, Cantons 1–6, and a fraction of Canton 7. The latter contains five other communes: Bastelicaccia, Alata, Afa, Appietto and Villanova, making a total of six communes for the seven cantons of Ajaccio.
Each canton contains a certain number of quartiers, "quarters". Cantons 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 are located along the Gulf of Ajaccio from west to east, while 4 and 5 are a little further up the valleys of the Gravona and the Prunelli Rivers. These political divisions subdivide the population of Ajaccio into units that can be more democratically served but they do not give a true picture of the size of Ajaccio. In general language, "greater Ajaccio" includes about 100,000 people with all the medical, educational, utility and transportational facilities of a big city. Up until World War II it was still possible to regard the city as being a settlement of narrow streets localized to some part of the harbor or the Gulf of Ajaccio; such bucolic descriptions do not fit the city of today, and travellogues intended for mountain or coastal recreational areas do not generally apply to Corsica's few big cities.
La la la la la lère
La la la la la la
La la la la la lère
La la la la la la
Dans une vieille ruelle
tout près de la citadelle
d'Ajaccio
dans la nuit toujours si belle
on entend des ritournelles,
des bravos
Les touristes en balade
écoutent les sérénades
du pays
et plus rien n'a d'importance
quand une ancienne romance
vous séduit
Ajaccio, Ajaccio *
aux sons des guitares
viennent filles et garçons
Ajaccio, Ajaccio
et chacun y chante sa chanson
la la la la la lère
la la la la la la {x2}
Le temps passe comme un rêve
tour à tour chacun se lève
pour chanter
et l'on chanterait encore
s'il ne fallait à l'aurore
s'arrêter
Mais les cœurs de tous les corses
battent avec plus de force,
de chaleur
quand s'éléve l'ajaccienne
que pour finir ils reprennent
tous en chœur
Ajaccio, Ajaccio
aux sons des guitares
viennent filles et garçons
Ajaccio, Ajaccio
et chacun y chante sa chanson
Ajaccio, Ajaccio
si Napoléon revenait
près de sa maison
Ajaccio, Ajaccio
lui aussi chanterait
sa chanson
L'enfant prodigue de la gloire
Napoléon, Napoléon