Editing Ajaccio (section)

===Medieval Genoese period===
It has been established that after the 8th century the city, like most other Corsican coastal communities, strongly declined and disappeared almost completely. Nevertheless, a castle and a cathedral were still in place in 1492 which last was not demolished until 1748. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Towards the end of the 15th century, the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] were eager to assert their dominance in the south of the island and decided to rebuild the city of Ajaccio. Several sites were considered: the ''Pointe de la Parata'' (not chosen because it was too exposed to the wind), the ancient city (finally considered unsafe because of the proximity of the salt ponds), and finally the ''Punta della Lechia'' which was finally selected.

Work began on the town on 21 April 1492 south of the Christian village by the [[Bank of Saint George]] at [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], who sent Cristoforo of Gandini, an architect, to build it. He began with a castle on Capo di Bolo, around which he constructed residences for several hundred people.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the city of Ajaccio|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.ajaccio.fr/Histoire-de-la-ville-d-Ajaccio_a12.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dadjacium%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26as_qdr%3Dall%26pwst%3D1|access-date=16 May 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Tour sanguinaires.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Genoese Tower.]]

The new city was essentially a colony of Genoa. The Corsicans were restricted from the city for some years.

Nevertheless, the town grew rapidly and became the administrative capital of the province of ''Au Delà Des Monts'' (more or less the current ''[[Corse-du-Sud]]''). [[Bastia]] remained the capital of the entire island.

Although at first populated exclusively by the Genoese, the city slowly opened to the Corsicans while the Ajaccians, almost to the French conquest, were legally citizens of the [[Republic of Genoa]] and were happy to distinguish themselves from the insular ''paesani'' who lived mainly in ''Borgu'', a suburb outside the city walls (the current ''rue Fesch'' was the main street).