to be liberated on 4 October 1943 by the Corsican resistance in the Pearl Harbor secret mission (sent by the secret services of the military defence establishment in Algiers) and the submarine Casabianca. The commandos of the secret mission (Roger de Saule, Laurent Preziosi, the cousins Toussaint, and Pierre Griffi) landed in the night of 13 to 14 December 1942 from the submarine Casabianca in the Bay of Topiti. After organizing a network in this region (Piana), they then moved to organize a 2nd network at Corte led locally by Pascal Valentini, finally heading for Bastia to organise a 3rd network in the Bastia and Cap Corse region. It was around Hyacinthe de Montera, specifically at 35 Boulevard Paoli, that the movement was organized. Laurent Preziosi had already participated in the first meetings in 1941 before returning to Algiers to be recruited for the mission. The movement then organized within the National Front. The radioman, Pierre Griffi was arrested in Ajaccio, severely tortured, and shot in Bastia without talking on 18 August 1943. The turret of the submarine Casabianca is displayed at the corner of the Place Saint-Nicolas on the sea side. A commemorative stone of the first meeting was affixed to 35 boulevard Paoli (above the door). After the war, Bastia gradually emerged as a key economic centre of Corsica. The Bastia agglomeration is the most extensive on the island. During the last fifty years Cardo had the second homes of wealthy Bastiais. Currently Cardo is a district of Bastia on the heights of Pigno. It attracts many people who want to live there as it has all the advantages of a village in the countryside while being close to the city. Heraldry Administration Lists of Mayors Mayors from 1941 Subdivisions The Agglomeration Community of Bastia includes 5 communes with a total population of 57,276 in 2010. Bastia is divided into four cantons, Canton of Bastia-1, Canton of Bastia-2, Canton of Bastia-3, and Canton of Bastia-4. Twinning Bastia has twinning associations with: Erding (Germany) since 1980. Viareggio (Italy) since 1980. Demography In 2017 the commune had 45,715 inhabitants. Education The commune has 10 kindergartens, 13 primary schools, 5 colleges, and 7 High schools. There is also a research institute of the engineering school of Arts et Métiers ParisTech (ENSAM). This institute was opened in 2000 and offers doctoral programs and specialized Masters in the field of renewable energy. Bastia