Nonza clings to the west coast of Cap Corse like a swallow's nest on a rock face. Houses balancing on the edge of a hundred-metre-high cliff, a brightly painted church, a tower with an incredible story and down below a grey-black beach that looks otherworldly. It's one of the most photogenic villages in Corsica, and one of the smallest.
The village
Nonza is compact. A handful of streets, a square, a church and a tower -- that's all there is, and all there needs to be. The Church of Saint Julie, painted a striking hot pink-orange, is the starting point for your walk. The sixteenth-century building stands on the site of an older church, and the interior is surprisingly light and richly decorated, with paintings from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Saint Julie is the patron saint of Corsica, who suffered a martyr's death here in the fourth century. The story is gruesome -- she was crucified and mutilated -- but the spring that according to legend gushed forth on that spot is still there. You reach the Fountain of Saint Julie via a stairway that descends from the northern entrance to the village. It's a short walk, but the setting feels remote and mystical.
The Paoline tower
Walk through the village to the Paoline tower, built in the eighteenth century on the ruins of an older castle. The tower stands dramatically on the tip of the cliff, with the sea on both sides. You can go inside -- it's now a small gift shop -- but what matters is the view and the story.
During the struggle between the Corsicans and the French, the entire garrison deserted, except for a crippled captain named Jacques Casella. Single-handedly, he tied ropes to multiple muskets and fired them as though an entire army were defending the tower, shouting orders at soldiers who weren't there. The French requested a ceasefire. When the gate opened, there stood an old man on crutches. It's one of those stories that seems too good to be true, but it's in the history books.
The black beach
Down at the foot of the cliff, reachable via a steep path that takes about ten minutes, lies the beach of Nonza. It's grey to black in colour, which gives it a surreal appearance. The material comes from a former asbestos factory that operated here in the 1950s -- the waste rock was dumped into the sea and formed this unusual beach. Sunbathing is fine, but swimming is not recommended due to the strong current.
The view from the village looking down may be even more beautiful than the beach itself. The contrast of the dark beach, the turquoise sea and the green maquis on the cliffs is an image that stays with you.
Practical tips
Nonza sits on the west coast of Cap Corse, about a fifteen-minute drive north of Saint-Florent. The village is small enough to explore in an hour, but take the time to sit on the low wall by the tower and just look. Parking is available along the road at the village entrance.
Combine Nonza with a drive around Cap Corse. The coastal road is one of the most beautiful on the island: winding along cliffs, through fields of maquis and past Genoese towers, with ever-changing views of the sea.
The feel of Nonza
By the ruins next to the tower, a bar has been set up on the site of the old castle. You sit on the edge of the cliff, with the sea on both sides and the mountains of Cap Corse behind you. It's one of those places where you realise that Corsica isn't just beautiful in the conventional sense -- it's also wild, steep and sometimes a little unreal. Nonza is all three at once.