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Notes on...

Napoleon's birthplace feels more Italian than French

Corsica has a complicated history – and some great ice cream

11 October 2014

9:00 AM

11 October 2014

9:00 AM

Napoleon’s birthplace, Casa Buona-parte, in Ajaccio, Corsica’s capital, is pretty grand. It has high ceilings, generous, silk-lined rooms and a gallery that could double as a mini-ballroom.

The house fits Napoleon’s upper-middle-class roots, as the son of a lawyer and Corsica’s representative to the court of Louis XVI. But the odd thing is, the home town of the world’s most famous Frenchman doesn’t feel very French.

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