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Paesi d'Ostriconi, Lama..
A rebuilt Future...
An alley dating from the Middle Ages
By will, Lama builds its future on the remnants of its history. The
destiny of Lama has maybe been decided on a day of August 1971.
On that day, a huge fire went up the valley of the Ostriconi... |
The megalithic time
It has let many traces in the Ostriconi:
some menhirs between Lama and Urtaca, an other reported on the Urtaca
mountain, a prehistorical site on the town of Pietralba "A Grotta
di U Luru".
Peak and Fall of the Roman Empire in the Ostriconi
Some Castelli (castles) among them the "Monte A Porretta"
in Lama, the Lumigiana Fort in Pietralba, small chapels (San Lorenzu
in Lama - listed as ancient monument, San Michele and Sante Maria
in Pietralba, San Nicolao in Urtaca) and, near the Ostriconi Beach,
Santa Maria Assunta, the parent Chapel of the Pieve, religious organization,
attest a time on which was taking form a religious and military
organization.
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| The Barbary forays lead the inhabitants to gather
themselves on the heights creating thus, in the Ostriconi, ten or
so villages among which four are today in ruins.
Lama has formed itself on a rocky ridge at the foot of the watchtower
"A Torra".
The oldest document discovered about
the village dates from 1206
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Santa-Maria Assunta in Palasca |
The vocation of Lama for the oil
At the beginning of the 17th century the village found its vocation.
Genoa took measures to develop the tree cultivation in Corsica, genoese
colony.
As from 1752, it subjected all the owners to the obligation of planting,
each year, trees chosen among the "5 species": chestnut
trees, mulberry trees, fig trees, olive trees, vine. |
For Lama, the way was marked out in advance:
the region was covered with wild olive trees.
In 1607, the order of grafting them is given.
Lama has lived during more than 3 centuries to the rhythm of the works
of the making of the olive oil.
Its olive grove, with more than 35 000 plants of olive trees, was
one of the most important of Corsica. |
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We still find many oil presses [ "e
fabriche" - hydraucally drawn near the river,
"i franghji" - drawn by animals], big millstones of granite
and troughs cut into stone...
The wealth of the village created by this plentiful
and renowned oil has had both architectural
and cultural effects.
The architectural interest of Lama essentially is in the
coexistence and harmony of two different styles:
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au to the medieval area to the medieval area made
of small houses, sticked to each other, to the narrow alleys and vaulted
passages , is added
the architecture of assertion of the large impressive houses,
built in the 18th century by the most well-off olive growers.
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| Their children when they got back after
studies in Italy, imitate what they have seen in Rome, Florence, or
Venice: a florentine belvedere, beautiful paintings in the italian
style representing painters of the italian Renaissance: Dante, l'Arioste,
le Tasse.. |
Lama as the other corsican villages,
gradually knew the disappearance of its farm-pastoral structures.
The heavy losses of the two wars speeded up the decline until the
deathblow which was given on the 27th of August 1971.
On that day, a huge fire going up the valley of the Ostriconi, destroyed
in one afternoon the olive grove, burning 35 000 olive trees, leaving
the village dying on its rocky peak.
The redeployment into the country tourism industry
In 1989, taking advantage of a Contract of Plan State-Region subsidizing
the grouped creation of cottages in the country; the town and almost
all the families set off on the great experience of the tourism
industry.
Lama has got several national distinctions: :
- Blooming Village
- Great National Prize of the Tourism Innovation
- "Cheers" for the Welcome in 1995
- Silver medal of the Tourism in 1996
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Discover
The Tour of the Villages
| The Village of Lama | The
Beach of the Ostriconi
Useful Information with the Tourist Office
Crédit Photos: OT
Ostriconi
Where to Stay in the Ostriconi ? The
Gites in the Village of Lama
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