centre on the island many people were of the opinion that its importance will hardly increase. The first reason they give is that the population of the city is composed of Genoese and Corsicans: the Genoese, from Rivières, belong to the lower class. Most Corsicans also belonged in this class. There is a jealousy and rivalry between the inhabitants of Bastia so great that few mind the interests of the city: they apply themselves only to deceit and to oust each other and that is where we get all the evil. The second reason is that the city has no port. It has in fact a small bay where it is possible to relax on small boats. On the other hand, houses, until now, have been very poorly distributed. There is not one that has a stable nor even a well or a cistern, so that it is necessary to fetch water from the fountain outside. Also in summer the water is very hot because it comes from far away via an aqueduct. The cellars are far from being good. Bastia is built on a rocky ground, where ducts and sewers can be dug only with great difficulty. The city has no pleasant walks and is also very exposed to the West Wind which sometimes lasts for eight or ten days, so we can not leave home because the wind is so strong that it shakes the houses. What is more advantageous for Bastia is to be near fertile country that produces some wine, such as at Cap Corse, and elsewhere wheat, as on the higher pièves. There is a at the doorstep and only a short distance from Piombino and other mainland locations. It is for these reasons, and not for others, that the Board has chosen Bastia to make the residence of its governors: because there is nowhere on the island where the governor would be better off than at Bastia". – Agostino Giustiniani in Description of Corsica, translation by Lucien Auguste Letteron in History of Corsica. He ends his description as follows: "There were still in the piève of Orto two small villages with the main pieve church dedicated to Saint Mary. These two villages and the church were ruined after the last plague and also because of the negligence of the piévans. After Porraggia comes Punta d'Arco and the Chiurlino Lake, about ten miles long, which