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 four cantons, Cantons 1–4, and a fraction of Canton 5. The latter contains three other communes: Bastelicaccia, Alata and Villanova, making a total of four communes for the five cantons of Ajaccio. Each canton contains a certain number of quartiers, "quarters". Cantons 1, 2, 3, 4 are located along the Gulf of Ajaccio from west to east, while 5 is 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 a part of the harbour or the Gulf of Ajaccio: such bucolic descriptions do not fit the city of today, and travelogues intended for mountain or coastal recreational areas do not generally apply to Corsica's few big cities. The arrondissement contains other cantons that extend generally up the two rivers into central Corsica. Twin towns – sister cities Ajaccio is twinned with: La Maddalena, Italy (1991) Population The population of Ajaccio increased sharply after 1960 due to migration from rural areas and the coming of "Pied-Noirs" (French Algerians), immigrants from the Maghreb and French from mainland France. Health Ajaccio has three hospital sites: the Misericordia Hospital, built in 1950, is located on the heights of the city centre. This is the main medical facility in the region. The Annex Eugenie. the Psychiatric Hospital of Castelluccio is west of the city centre and is also home of cancer services and long-stay patients. Education Ajaccio is the headquarters of the Academy of Corsica. The city of Ajaccio has: 18 nursery schools (16 public and 2 private) 17 primary schools (15 public and 2 private) 6 colleges 5 Public Schools: Collège Arthur-Giovoni Collège des Padule Collège Laetitia Bonaparte Collège Fesch EREA 1 Private School: Institution Saint Paul 3 sixth-form colleges/senior high schools