What is a ‘Heritage Trail’?

A ‘Heritage Trail’ – or Chjassu di a Memoria – is a walking route that winds through a village and its surroundings, following ancient paths. The route is dotted with heritage features that are still visible, inviting visitors to discover the history of the area and the way of life of those who once lived there.

What’s the difference between this and a traditional hike?

A Heritage Trail provides a framework for understanding the local area: it is no longer simply a matter of seeing, but of learning to observe what lies along the way.

Are the heritage trails easily accessible?

Most are accessible to everyone and are ideal for a family day out. However, some sections can become more technical depending on the weather conditions, such as the descent between the rocks at Lama.

Can we visit the places along the route?

Visitors are free to explore the open and accessible sites, whilst respecting the heritage.

When is the best time to visit them?

The Forcili path, which is well shaded, is ideal for summer walks – but autumn, with its mushrooms, and spring, with its fragrances, lend it just as much charm. The other routes, which are more exposed, are ideal in spring or autumn.

How do you find your way round the courses?

The Heritage Trails have their own dedicated signposting. Wrought-iron signposts mark the route, providing information about the sites and local crafts at each stage. For more precise guidance, the Lisula Outdoor app allows you to follow the route using geolocation.

On heritage trails

Nature and culture

Heritage trails

Shaped by the people who farm this naturally bountiful land, Balagne is known as the ‘Garden of Corsica ’. In Lisula, nature in turn helps to broaden one’s cultural horizons through its heritage trails. Walking thus becomes an opportunity to learn, and learning, in turn, a different way of walking. Discoveringthe history of the place you are walking through, step by step, and seeing these seemingly silent stones by the wayside in a new light – that is the very essence of the Chjassi di a Memoria – the ‘paths of memory’ – the network of ‘Heritage Trails’ developed by the Corsican Environment Agency.

1. Forcili

In Pioggiola, the Forcili trail traces the history of a rural communityGhjunsani and the special bond it shared with its surroundings. Venturing along this path means walking in the footsteps of feudal lords and crossing bridges built by the Genoese during the period when their republic ruled the area. The cooling shade of the centuries-old oak and chestnut trees, carefully lined up behind moss-covered low walls, bears witness to a prosperous era for arboriculture. At every stage of the walk, you can picture the way of life of days gone bythrough the remains of this heritage that are still visible: the threshing of wheat – ‘a tribbiera’ – the mouth-watering aromas wafting from the communal oven around which the villagers gather, and so on.

Rando 37 : Forcili heritage path

Rando 33 : Lama heritage path

2. Lama

The Lama trail spans space and time: from theOstriconi and Canale valleys to the summer pastures, but also through several centuries of village history. The route begins in the narrow streets, where grand Florentine-inspired mansions stand alongside more modest medieval dwellings. Then, the path winds its way upwards, following in the footsteps of the shepherds who led their flocksto the high pastures of Tenda. The route offers an insight into the ingenuity of the villagers: the use of juniper to preserve foodstuffs, the fountains and irrigation systems that bear witness to astute water management, and the cultivation of olive trees that yield ‘yellow gold’ – olive oil. The saying ‘Balanini, unti è fini’ – literally, ‘Balanins, anointed and fine’ – still evokes this flourishing era. A little further on lies the Corallini House, where one can stillimagine the distinctive scent of sheep’s-milk cheeses in the maturing cellars, wafting out to tantalise the nose and pique one’s curiosity.

3. Occi

Starting from Lumio, theOcci trail delves into the history of these coastal villages which, worn down by invasions, sought refuge in the hills. The route allows you to follow the daily journeys of the inhabitants and the paths that linked families between neighbouring hamlets. It passes by a rebuilt chapel, then invites you to wander amongst crumbling walls where nature has reclaimed its rights. Time seems to have decided to stand still here. And as the mind abhors a vacuum, the imagination can roam freely through this petrified landscape to piece together the story that can be glimpsed in fragments.

4. Giustiniani

In the heart of the Reginu Valley, the Giustiniani trail takes you back in time to antiquity. The route follows a Roman road – chjappata – which linked the centre of Corsica to the trading posts of L’Ile-Rousse, Rubico Rocega, and L’Osari – Losari. Each stage reveals the villagers’ skills, from the apiary – ernaghju – where maquis honey was harvested; to the oil press – palmentu – used to extract the ‘yellow gold’, and on to the cattle feeders – vaccaghje – signs of pastoral life. These are all clues to a rich past, available to anyone wishing to discover Lisula in a different light.