Pietralba

Petralba – Pietralba, meaning ‘white stone’ – overlooks the Canale valley, with the Ostriconi in the distance. The village grew out of the merger of two hamlets, U Pedanu and U Tetu. It stands on the heights, long prized for their defensive position. A little further up, the ruins of Casenove bear witness to this ancient settlement and still allow visitors to appreciate its scale in real life. Today, people come to Pietralba in particular for the ‘A Petralbinca’ trail, but also for the flavour of ‘oliose’ – traditional biscuits made with olive oil – and for the many paths that wind their way along the ridges.

Getting there

Flavours of yesteryear to savour today

Whilst white wine canistrelli are Corsica’s iconic sweet treats, in Petralbait is the crispness and creaminess of the oliose that whets the appetite. This speciality from Pieve du Canale has a recipe that dates back to a time when the valley was still rich agricultural land. After harvesting olives for the lords, the villagers would keep the leftover oil to flavour bread and biscuits. The women, who baked their bread in the communal oven, would knead this dough with olive oil and sprinkle it with sugar. Today, you can find these oliose at the village bakery: Les Portes de la Balagne. It remains to be seen whether they take you on a journey back in time, like Proust’s little madeleine.

A race towards adventure... the human kind

In Petralba, exploring the maquis involves carefully following ancient transhumance trails. Starting from the village, four routes guide visitors through the countryside at their own pace: one walk leads to the ruins of Casenove; the challenging climb up Monte Astu offers panoramic views of the Balagne and the Nebbiu; whilst another route follows the high-altitude paths to Bocca di Tenda.

Every year in June, these trails host the iconic A Petralbinca trail run, which attracts nearly 800 runners from all corners of Europe eager to test their limits. The race winds through the maquis and along the ridges, connecting the village with its outlying areas in the space of a morning.

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Rando 18 : Boucle de Casenove

The irony of the Casenove ruins

Above Petralba lies a hamlet where life has stood still since the beginning of the last century. It can be reached via a footpath leading from the village. From Casenove – ‘new houses’ – a name that no longer reflects reality as the houses are now in ruins, the view stretches out over the Popolasca peaks and Monte Padru.

Not far from there, the restoration of the Chapel of Saint Lucy some thirty years ago led to the discovery of ancient pottery in the surrounding area, suggesting the existence of a necropolis. Inside the chapel stands a golden calvary, spared by the Prussians and donated by a hotelier from Versailles, originally from Petralba, in 1870.

It was also in this hamlet that Abbé Bonavita (1752–1833) was born; he served as Napoleon’s first chaplain on Saint Helena between 1819 and 1821 and was a Knight of the Papal Order of the Golden Cross.