Set high on a black rocky pinnacle that plunges vertically into the sea, the village of NONZA , 18km south of Centuri, is one of the highlights of the Cap Corse shoreline. It was formerly the main stronghold of the da Gentile family, and the remains of their fortress are still standing on the furthest rocks on the overhanging cliff.
Nonza is also famous for St Julia , patron saint of Corsica, who was martyred here in the fifth century. The story goes that she had been sold into slavery at Carthage and was being taken by ship to Gaul when the slavers docked here. A pagan festival was in progress, and when Julia refused to participate she was crucified; the gruesome legend relates that her breasts were then cut off and thrown onto a stone, from which sprang two springs, now enshrined in a chapel by the beach. To get there, follow the sign on the right-hand side of the road before you enter the square, which points to La Fontaine de Ste-Julia , down by the rocks. Reached by a flight of six hundred steps, Nonza's long grey beach is discoloured as a result of pollution from the now disused asbestos mine up the coast. This may not inspire confidence, but the locals insist it's safe (they take their own kids there in summer), and from the bottom you do get the best view of the tower, which looks as if it's about to topple into the sea.
You can stay in Nonza at Auberge Patrizi (tel 04.95.37.82.16; €46-61 including breakfast; closed mid-Oct to March), run from the restaurant below the church: made up of two village houses, it's an old-fashioned place where half-board is obligatory, but the food is good and plentiful. The nearest campsite is A Stella , 9km south on the
St-Florent Road
(tel 04.95.37.14.37; closed Nov-March), which is cheap and right next to a pebble beach
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