Rurban Corsica
The research carried out in Corsica stems from a series of observations made during an artist residency in Ville di Pietrabugno, a municipality located a few kilometres from Bastia. The invitation came from Marcel Fortini, director of the Centre Méditerranéen de la Photographie, following the selection of a portfolio at the Photolux Festival.
Given the size of the island and the time available, the investigation focused on a portion of Upper Corsica: from Bastia towards the inland areas and the northern coast. While retaining certain distinctive features, in particular the close symbiosis between individuals and their territory even in the most remote areas, the Corsican landscape is currently undergoing profound change. Observations revealed a phenomenon that runs counter to the rural migration of the post-war years: whereas people once moved from the countryside to the city, the flow is now reversed, from urban centres towards rural areas, in what resembles a returning wave.
This renewed interest in rural territory appears not to be motivated by a desire to recover a traditional way of life, but rather by practical needs that the global urban context can no longer always fulfil: more living space, the possibility of parking near one’s home, and lower property prices.
The trend is clearly visible in the new residential buildings. Country houses now resemble fragments of urban architecture scattered across the rural landscape. Instead of the old stone-and-wood structures, brick and concrete are often preferred, later finished with plaster. From an aesthetic standpoint, older houses, built from materials sourced locally, tended to blend more harmoniously with their surroundings, both in colour and material, thus reducing their visual impact on the landscape.
The Corsican territory also shows other significant changes compared to its recent past. Whereas the wine sector experienced a downturn in the 1980s and 1990s, the trend has now reversed: land once used for producing table wine has given way to quality wineries targeting markets well beyond the island. In certain areas, this new activity inevitably comes into conflict with traditional pastoralism, resulting in a process in which one ultimately displaces the other.
