the citadel of ajaccio

Situated in the heart of Ajaccio, the Miollis Citadel, whose first stone was laid in 1492 and which has been continuously transformed up to the present day, was occupied until recently by the State's military services.

The Citadel was built on a strategic site by the Genoese in order to protect the city effectively from maritime attacks. It originally consisted of a keep or citadel (castello) and a lower wall. The fortress was built in 1492 under the authority of the Genoese Office of Saint George. In 1553, with the arrival of Sampiero and the French troops, work was carried out to enlarge the citadel. In 1559, Giovan Giacomo Palearo, an engineer known as "il Fratino", reinforced the fortifications and separated the Citadel from the rest of the city. It was hexagonal in shape and had six bastions.

In the middle of the 18th century, the Republic of Genoa, at the end of its tether and having to face the incessant Corsican revolts led by Pasquale Paoli, let the French take control of the island little by little. The island was ceded to them in 1768. At the beginning of the French period, the Citadel was enlarged in order to reinforce its defensive character (construction of casemates and the artillery battery of the low bastion). During this period, the number of occupants of the Citadel increased. From less than 100 soldiers at the time of the Genoese to almost 800 French soldiers. New buildings were then constructed within the enclosure, and the existing buildings were enlarged. Finally, in 1789, the ditches were emptied in order to clean up the site. During the 19th century, the Citadel's vocation became less and less defensive and it gradually became a military barracks.

Lors de la Grande Guerre, la Citadelle fait office de point d’inscription et de ralliement des soldats ajacciens avant leur départ pour le front. Elle sera également occupée par les fascistes italiens pendant la seconde guerre mondiale ainsi que le lieu de détention de l’héroïque résistant Fred Scamaroni, créateur du réseau gaulliste Action R2 corse en 1941, mandaté par le Général de Gaulle en janvier 1943 pour tenter l’unification de la Résistance. Il sera arrêté par l’OVRA (contrespionnage italien). Il choisira alors de se suicider, pour ne pas parler.
Depuis 2014, la ville d’Ajaccio mène une réflexion en termes d’aménagement et de développement sur le périmètre du cœur de ville intégrant la Citadelle et la ville Génoise. La volonté de la Ville est d’aménager et d’ouvrir la Citadelle tout en la valorisant en tant que patrimoine exceptionnel du centre-ville pour une véritable réunification des deux espaces…
Occupée jusqu’en 2020 par les militaires, elle est à présent la propriété de la Ville d’Ajaccio.